Yay election!

 It is a great day for America!

I have kept my disdain for Donald Trump no secret. It's not that I'm a flaming liberal. I'm neither Republican nor Democrat. True, at this moment in time, I lean left—but that's mostly because of Trump! I think the Republican party has totally lost their minds by electing and supporting a bully who had never been a politician. I can kind of understand if they said, "I don't like him, but he supports the policies I agree with, so I'll vote for him." But people actively like him and defend him! It baffles me! My respect for those people plummets.

Trump is the first incumbent president to lose re-election since 1992. I hope you all have learned your lesson. The next time you elect a reality TV star, make sure he has at least a little bit of moral character!

I don't understand how Republicans saw Trump as the godly candidate. Joe Biden literally went to church on Election Day morning—a Tuesday! And on the other hand, Trump's favorite Bible verse is "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," which entirely misses the point.

I also don't understand how people dislike Biden as much as they do. They don't articulate real reasons for disliking him. I mean, my first choice was Amy Klobuchar, but I don't see anything really bad about him. I'm not comfortable with his touchy-feely nature or that he forgot Mitt Romney's name, but those are nowhere near as concerning as a president who doesn't concede elections or who brags about groping women.

On Friday night, Biden said he will work as hard for people who voted against him as he did for people who voted for him. I can't ever imagine Trump saying anything like that. Oh, and can we talk about how exciting it is to have our first woman vice president?

On Wednesday, I went into a convenience store wearing my Biden/Harris t-shirt, and one man complimented me. But there were also two men without masks (of course 🙄), and the cashier (who was wearing her mask below her nose) complained about her mask. She said, "And now that we have Biden, we'll be wearing them. And he'll shut things down. I'm just so sad that Trump won't be president. And now there will be civil wars." And one of the anti-maskers said, "And there should be! I'll join!" Really? You think there should be civil wars just because your preferred candidate didn't win? What a moron! Trump refusing to concede is reason enough that he shouldn't be president, all by itself.

Really, you Republicans should be glad in a way that Trump lost. This way, I'm hoping that once again I can like the Republican Party someday. But as long as Trump is in power, I can't take them seriously. 

I lean left because the environment and gun safety are important to me, and Republicans don't seem to care about them. But I lean right when it comes to police and states' rights. (Truthfully, though, I don't think Republicans care about states' rights. They only support states' rights when it benefits their agenda.) 

I am thrilled with the result of the presidential election. And fortunately, I don't think we had a bad choice when it came to Utah's governor. Back in 2016, lots of Republicans wanted to be president, and they picked the worst one. But this summer, in Utah, we had four Republicans who wanted to be governor, and they picked the best one! I even bought a Spencer Cox yard sign.

I ended up not voting for Cox, for a few reasons. But I'm not sad he won. I have mostly appreciated Gary Herbert, and I think Cox will likewise be a good governor. I think he has a moral conscience (unlike many other Republicans right now, *cough* Mike Lee *cough*), and he will work across the aisle.

I don't understand how the US House District 4 race is so tight. I don't live in that district, but I feel like it affects me because of all the attack ads we've been enduring. Ben McAdams seems like such an obvious choice! I mean, when he was mayor, he pretended to be homeless so he could see what the homeless shelter was like. And this year, he told Nancy Pelosi that it was inappropriate to tear up the State of the Union speech. Burgess Owens, on the other hand, is a football player who moved to Utah in 2012. I don't like any attack ads, but I must say, the anti-Owens ads are more intelligent than the anti-McAdams ads. I hope Ben wins.

I am optimistic about our country now. 

***

Pumpkinundation roundup has entered the Thanksgiving season! That means I now include some savory items, because turkey is a savory Thanksgiving food. 

But apparently turkey is also a sweet food, at least in Brach's Turkey Dinner Candy Corn. This might well be the weirdest candy I have ever eaten. It has six flavors. Sweet potato pie is generically sweet, and it has more of a marshmallow flavor, which makes me wonder if it's actually sweet potato casserole. Cranberry sauce tastes like those strawberry hard candies with the soft center that come in those red and green foil wrappers; it's fine, but it doesn't really taste like cranberry. Green beans is gross, and it doesn't even taste like green beans, so what's the point? Ginger-glazed carrots is the truest to its name. It has a noticeable ginger flavor, with carrot as backup. I would love to see these at Easter. Stuffing actually tastes like stuffing! But it's super weird to have it in candy corn. Same can be said for roasted turkey. When I was eating those flavors, I almost got lightheaded, because my brain was like, "What is going on!?" I have four and a half categories of seasonal candies. Technically these are a category 2a, because they are a candy with a seasonal flavor. But I wonder if I should create a fifth category for candies that are an experience. These are clearly an experience rather than just a flavor (similar to Pop Rocks or Zombie Skittles). I still have the bag in my junk-food drawer, and I don't really look forward to eating it. I like regular candy corn better. But it truly was a fun experience! I just wish the bag were smaller. 4/10 for the candy. 7/10 for the experience.

Trader Joe's Turkey Jerky is sold all year, but I eat more turkey in November. As my body was craving protein, this hit the spot! But I never realized before how expensive jerky is. This package has about 240 calories and cost six dollars! 7/10.

Trader Joe's Thanksgiving Stuffing Kettle Chips have a new name (they used to be Turkey and Stuffing) but the same flavor. I don't really think it tastes like stuffing. If I were choosing from a selection of flavors, it wouldn't be the first I would pick. But I still enjoy eating them, especially because they're seasonal. 7/10.

Apple Pie Kit Kat has a nice spice flavor mixed in the white coating. 7/10.

Turkey & Pumpkin Mole Burrito has turkey, sweet potatoes, and a spicy mole sauce made with pumpkin. I don't think the seasonal flavors are very noticeable, but it was still a fine burrito. 7/10.

Archer Farms Apple Cinnamon Pecan Trail Mix has lots of apple chips, and I'm not really a fan of apple chips—but I still finished the bag in a few days. 7/10.

I thought the kale and butternut squash were a little odd in the Trader Joe's Gobbler Quesadilla. But you can't go wrong with a quesadilla! 7/10.

It's been a few years since I've had a Dunford Bakers Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie; they often sell them in vending machines, and I haven't had a job with a vending machine since 2017. It's fine, but it's a little dry. 6/10.

They sell Apple Pie Larabars all year, but apple pie is a Thanksgiving flavor. It's OK. 6/10.

Kneaders Turkey Cranberry Croissant might well be the best lunch item on the Kneaders menu. All the ingredients work well together—even the cheese, and I have a strained relationship with cheese! 9/10.

I asked for a pumpkin chocolate chip cake, but instead I got the Kneaders Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie. It's basic, but it's a satisfying formula, with spices in the batter. 7/10.

I think the Good & Gather Apple Pie Date & Nut Bar is slightly better than the Larabar. 7/10.

Dannon Light + Fit Pumpkin Pie Greek Yogurt is the best pumpkin Greek yogurt. It's not sour like the others. 7/10.

Trader Joe's Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli was better than I expected. It had a nice fragrance of pumpkin, and it was just a little sweet. It's also very pretty. I had it with my homemade tomato sauce (seen on the right), but I thought it clashed a little, so honestly I liked it better plain. 7/10. (We seriously need a Trader Joe's in Davis County! There's only three in the entire state, and the one on 400 South is always busy and crowded, no matter when you go.)