We the People, still have power. #VOTE

Edited Nov 4, 2026: We the People have spoken! ☆

There's a reason I'm so outspoken about politics and bringing awareness to what's happening in America and around the world. I worked for the government. I was a federal employee at the Internal Revenue Service for twenty years. It's the main reason I'm so vocal about politics today.

Generations of families have lifelong careers in government. My grandmother spent thirty years working at the IRS before me. I started working there in 2002, just four months after the September 11 attacks. I was nineteen years old, straight out of high school, a hopeful millennial. 

During my career, I worked in several different departments, went from a clerk to a tax examiner, and made lifelong friends. I also experienced the not-so-great side of our government. I saw firsthand what budget cuts, pay and hiring freezes, shutdowns, and $0 paychecks did to our agency. I saw the impact on my co-workers, whose bills didn't stop just because two sides of the political spectrum couldn't agree on a budget. I saw the impact on American taxpayers, months of backlogged work, tax returns waiting to be processed. The bureaucracy and tax laws that made every day life harder for people.

In 2022, I decided to leave the IRS. The pandemic had given me a new perspective on work-life balance, (an office relocation and the revocation of remote work, may have expedited my decision.) I was forty years old. I had spent my youth working for the government. It was time to move on. 

The DOGE cuts came soon after I left, and the federal workforce faced devastating cuts. Thousands of federal employees lost their jobs, their careers. Decades of knowledge and expertise discarded for a political agenda under the guise of "economic savings."

The oath I took to support and defend the Constitution didn't end when I left federal service. I saw how government policies negatively affected my life, my family, my friends, and the American people. I want better for all of us. We deserve better. 

It's time to remember that it's WE THE PEOPLE who elect the politicians in charge of our towns, cities, states, and federal government. It is We the People who fund the United States government through the taxes we pay from our hard-earned paychecks. For too long, we've looked the other way and allowed corruption, greed, cruelty, and divisiveness to run rampant inside our government. The house is burning from the inside. It's time for change.

I don't know when we became complacent, when we bought into the lies: "Politics are boring." "Politics don't affect me." "Why should I vote?" "Nothing changes." I was guilty of saying those same things when I was younger. I thought it didn't matter. Working for the U.S. government through several administrations opened my eyes. It does matter, a great deal. Our collective voice matters. 

We may not see change overnight, but if we start taking an active part in our democracy today, we can absolutely change the trajectory of this country and the world for the better. Utilize your First Amendment rights.

First Amendment

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

We have the power to change things. We have the power to save the American dream. Speak up and use your voice! Vote in every election! Stay informed about current laws and policies and how they can affect you, your family or your community. Support politicians who don't take corporate bribes. Support independent, unbiased journalism. Stop treating politics like a sport. It's not ride or die for one party or one person. It's ride or die for the nation as a whole.

I want an America that represents freedom and democracy for ALL, not one based on income bracket, political party, color, creed, or orientation.

I want an America that is beautifully diverse. An America that is a safe haven for immigrants and refugees. A country that respects and celebrates all cultures.

I want an America where healthcare is a basic human right, where a trip to the hospital won't bankrupt you.

I want an America that invests in its citizens well-being and education.

I want an America that cares about how employers treat their workers.

I want an America where people can afford to own a home and earn enough to provide for their families, where small businesses can flourish.

I want an America that builds and strengthens alliances worldwide and recognizes the value of our allies and trade. A country that strives for peace, not endless wars.

I want an America governed by WE THE PEOPLE, not one ruled by corporations, shareholders, or corrupt politicians. They say greed is the worst sin of all. Looking at the state our world is in right now, it's not hard to see why.

We the People need to start voting for leaders who believe in and protect the Constitution. Leaders who respect the framework the Founding Fathers put in place and uphold the rule of law. Leaders who lead with empathy and compassion, conduct themselves with integrity, and genuinely want to serve the people who elected them. Not people who serve only their own egos and greed, who revel in cruelty and destruction.

They may try to divide us, but We the People still have power. It's time to use that power and make our voices heard. Let's make the 250th anniversary of the United States of America one for the history books by preserving democracy.

Vote, vote, vote!

Make your voice heard.

• Register to vote: 
https://www.vote.org/voter-registration-rules/

• Check your states voter registration deadline: 
https://www.vote.org/voter-registration-deadlines/

• Consider taking part in No Kings Day:

https://www.nokings.org/

We're All Mad Here...

Alice in Wonderland has always been my favorite fairy tale. ❤️ When I was a kid I was obsessed with the TV movie. 

I'd play dress up in one of my old Christmas dresses, a red & white polka dot dress, similar to the one TV Alice wore, and when my Mom was in the kitchen I'd jump off the stairs onto the sofa below, pretending I was Alice falling down the rabbit hole, my dress puffing out like a parachute. 😂 

                                                  (Photo of me in my red dress from 1988.)

I've been looking for an antique copy of Alice in Wonderland and was lucky enough to find a 1920 copy from a shop in the UK for $16! 

The dodo bird illustration was always one of my favorites. I was terrified of the Cheshire Cat as a kid, but I love him now. 

CDV: (1895-1897) Girl with her Bicycle

I apologize, this photograph has been sitting in my draft posts for about a year. It is of a teenage girl around late 1800's. I love her puffed sleeves, it gives me Anne of Green Gables vibes. (Anne so wanted a dress with puffed sleeves!)

Speaking of which, did anyone see the Netflix series Anne with an E? I'm super disappointed it was canceled in Season 3, it was such a good show with great actors! The girl who played Anne, (Amybeth Mcnulty) was the entire essence of who Anne of Green Gables was! It was a Anne for this century covering multiple issues: bullying, abuse, racism, feminism, LGBT+, etc. I'm a sucker for any historical drama and I'm really sad it was canceled. (Maybe, sign the petition fans have created to bring the show back!)

I purchased this CDV off eBay from a seller in England. There was no info on the back, but her clothing suggests late 1800's, possibly 1895-1897. Her outfit is actually made for cycling! I recently obtained a reprint of the 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co catalog and I've scanned a few pages from that (below) showing all the bicycle equipment you could buy in 1897. 

Outfits for cycling. Gentlemen had their own outfits, with knicker shorts. The bicycle suit for ladies had a skirt that was shorter than the dresses they would wear every day.

A few of the ladies bicycles for sale in the 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co catalog. 

The lamp on the bicycle in the photograph is a carbide lamp. You can see some similar ones for sale in the 1897 catalog, it was fueled with acetylene gas. A few models (above) in the Sears catalog were fueled by kerosene. 

RPPC: Pets in the early 1900's.

Please see my previous post Pets in the 19th Century for even more photographs!

These are both antique photo postcards (RPPC) from around the early to mid 1900's that were each purchased at separate times. Both postcards were blank on the back so I have no way of properly identifying the people in them. It's lovely to see pets were cherished members of the family even 100 years ago. 

CDV Photographs: Pets in the 19th Century

In some of the more rare carte de visite photographs, owners posed with their pets. These are a few CDV & cabinet cards with animals that I've collected. 

 CDV photo circa 1870-1880. Posing with their pet pony/horse. 

CDV Photo circa 1870. Posing with her little dog. 

CDV Photo circa 1880. Mummy & Fluffy is written on the back,
the other writing is hard to make out.

CDV Photo circa 1880. A photo anomaly: the dog moved in her lap as the photo was taken
and his head appears to be missing!

Cabinet Card. Photo circa 1870-1880. Posing with her dog. 

If you were ever curious of the size difference between a Cabinet Card and a Carte de Visite, you can see here how much larger the Cabinet Card is next to the CDV. 

 

CDV Photograph: Pince Nez Glasses 1870-1880

While looking for CDV (carte de visite) photographs, I noticed all the wacky antique glasses people used to wear. I made it my mission to try and obtain one for my CDV album and my patience paid off recently when I was able to get this photograph.

The photo is circa 1870-1880, and the studious girl from Massachusetts is wearing a pair Pince Nez glasses. There would have been a chain and a clip to secure to her dress and the glasses stayed on by pinching the bridge of her nose. While they definitely don't look very stylish today, I'm sure they were popular back in the day.

Here's an example of antique Pince Nez Glasses from Pinterest:

    

Post Mortem CDV: Nevada G Estes & Baby John 1880

I'm still collecting carte de visite photographs, otherwise known as CDVs. There's certain subjects I've especially been trying to collect, including a post mortem.

Post-Mortem photography was very common back in the 19th century and while it may seem distasteful or creepy to us nowadays, it was quite normal in the 1800's. Photography was rare and often expensive. Back then the only photograph you owned would most likely have been your wedding portrait; so often, a post mortem was the only photograph of a loved one that a family may have had to remember them by, if they passed away.  

I was intrigued by this particular photograph because of the name scrawled on the back:

I did some digging on Ancestry.com and discovered Nevada G Estes (born 1851), was married to John W Estes. In the 1880 Missouri census, they had a little baby, John Estes who was 7 1/2 months old at the time and is listed as being born October 1879. 

Unfortunately there were no records for the 1890 census, as the records were destroyed in a fire. 

The next census that showed Nevada and her husband was in 1900. (Their surname was misspelled on the census, which is quite common when you start looking into census records). Little John Estes is no longer listed in the household. Instead James H Estes, who was born in 1886 is listed as their living son. James, passed away in 1929.

From looking at other records, it appears Nevada had 7 children over her lifetime, but only 3 lived. Only James Henry is listed on findagrave.com, but I was finally able to link little baby John Estes to his mother's memorial page. His grave is unknown.