tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140513572024-03-13T14:00:40.245-07:00More than a Mouthful.....Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051357.post-62237863335246752872010-10-02T12:54:00.000-07:002011-01-03T06:24:53.955-08:00These are the things that I long for....<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span id="goog_588171311"></span><span id="goog_588171312"></span><span id="goog_588171323"></span><span id="goog_588171324"></span><span id="goog_588171325"></span><span id="goog_588171326"></span><span id="goog_588171327"></span><span id="goog_588171328"></span>Yesterday, I stubled accross this Leda from Escama Studio in September's issue of InStyle. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.</div><span id="goog_588171336"></span> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="goog_588171340"></span>'Leda" Pop Top<span id="goog_588171343"></span><span id="goog_588171344"></span> Cut Out Clutch<span id="goog_588171341"></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sia Wedge Bootie from Alloy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://store.alloy.com/item.do?categoryID=113&itemID=52209&sizeFilter=&colorFilter=&brandFilter=" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/TKeH0RQUs5I/AAAAAAAAASs/wlpzA9BQiFY/s320/Alloymilisweat.bmp" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Military Sweater Coat from Alloy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://store.alloy.com/item.do?categoryID=113&itemID=52477&sizeFilter=&colorFilter=&brandFilter=" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/TKeH3Xkyx3I/AAAAAAAAASw/foJp9cNYyJQ/s320/dolmantunic.bmp" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="itemname">Cozy Off-Shoulder Dolman Tunic</span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://store.alloy.com/item.do?categoryID=1801&itemID=52339&sizeFilter=&colorFilter=&brandFilter=" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/TKeH6fVvk4I/AAAAAAAAAS0/57Gsf5KiYUQ/s320/knitpants.bmp" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="itemname">Luxe Drawstring Knit Pant</span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="itemname">Marni Necklace</span> from Alloy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://store.alloy.com/item.do?categoryID=16&itemID=52344&sizeFilter=&colorFilter=&brandFilter=" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/TKeIB7tagRI/AAAAAAAAATE/dlLKO8EOy3c/s320/sandieskirt.bmp" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="itemname">Sandie Striped Skirt</span> from Alloy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://store.alloy.com/item.do?categoryID=11&itemID=50686&sizeFilter=&colorFilter=&brandFilter="><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/TKeIEkC-HnI/AAAAAAAAATI/uf3uD98g0Js/s320/sweaterdress.bmp" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="itemname">Megan Dolman Sweater Dress from Alloy</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="http://store.alloy.com/item.do?categoryID=11&itemID=50686&sizeFilter=&colorFilter=&brandFilter="></a>Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051357.post-80418212242063382572008-11-03T10:47:00.000-08:002008-11-03T12:33:08.554-08:00I Was There (Or, David Byrne, Smashing Pumpkins, and the Obama Rally)<div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQ9IcKfbbEI/AAAAAAAAAJk/p16U7Lp_BUM/s1600-h/david%2520byrne-thumb-450x337.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img style="WIDTH: 382px; HEIGHT: 258px" height="262" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQ9IcKfbbEI/AAAAAAAAAJk/2Gz5LUQmCdA/s320-R/david%2520byrne-thumb-450x337.jpg" width="373" border="0" jf="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left">I am a huge fan of the Talking Heads and basically anything that David <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Byrne</span> has ever touched. The only other person who I have ever known personally that loves him more than I do is my handsome gentleman friend, Andy. When I discovered months ago that David <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Byrne</span> was coming to Cleveland, I barely ate for a week in order to purchase the best seats that were available for Andy's birthday in October. Of course, since the show itself was about a week after Andy's birthday we celebrated with home made tacos and a viewing of "Dr. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Strangleove</span>" which was exactly how he wished to spend his special day. We counted down the days until we got to see Mr. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Byrne</span> and couldn't have been more enamored with him once we were actually there. He was incredible. You could feel his voice permeating your flesh and running through your veins. I assumed that this is what people who <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">believe</span> in god must feel like when they are in church. It was so warm, spiritual, and positive. We bought a copy of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Byrne's</span> most recent book of prose, The New Sins, which is further displaying the talent and incredible artistry that this man <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">possesses</span>. We managed to get so close to the stage that we could see how immaculately clean David <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Byrne's</span> white sneakers were and that he more likely than not smelled the whiskey on our breath. I couldn't <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">believe</span> that I was there.</div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div class="" style="CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQ9LuPMYlcI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/Eu8JA12Lryk/s1600-h/161.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQ9LuPMYlcI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/q0JbHIQeEMk/s320-R/161.JPG" border="0" jf="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left">Fast forward a little more than a week to this past Saturday, November 1st. Andy had bought me tickets to see a band from my childhood that I had never seen. I still can't <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">believe</span> that I saw Smashing Pumpkins for the first time in 2008. Billy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Corgan</span> was as cocky and adorable as ever and ever so slightly weirder. I couldn't <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">believe</span> that I was there. If you'd have told me that this experience would fall far behind any other in the same weekend I'd have surely given you a wedgie. I would have said proudly that nothing could possibly top hearing "They Only Come Out at Night" on kazoos, especially in the same weekend. </div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQ9NXL_KgeI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/BnMYAetiZOM/s1600-h/smashing_pumpkins4.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQ9NXL_KgeI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/8I4eVQ0qcRU/s320-R/smashing_pumpkins4.jpg" border="0" jf="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left">The very next morning, we woke up after thinking we had slept in but actually woke up at a decent hour considering the time change. We suited up and went for brunch at the Happy Dog before we rode our bikes downtown to attend the Barack Obama rally a mere two days before the election. We waited in line for nearly four hours and then waited some more inside the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">rally's</span> gates for Bruce Springsteen to perform a short acoustic set before introducing who I hope for the sake of the world is America's next first family.</div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQ9dZjPnEaI/AAAAAAAAAKE/bQBgREK2X7I/s1600-h/285_springsteen_obama_041608.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQ9dZjPnEaI/AAAAAAAAAKE/yebUAWFEtcw/s320-R/285_springsteen_obama_041608.jpg" border="0" jf="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left">I don't fancy myself a Springsteen fan but have always appreciated what he stands for and the fact that he has always done so consistently. I was impressed by his set musically and concerning the inspiring <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">things</span> he had to say. When Senator Obama took the stage the crowd let out a roar unlike one I have ever heard. In all directions, all you could see was people. The faces on these people were happy and hopeful. Obama was intelligent, articulate, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">hilarious</span>, and warm. I wondered how anyone who has been paying even the slightest bit of attention to this election could possibly vote for anyone but him. I don't <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">necessarily</span> agree with everything he has to say about the state of this country and our place in the world, but anyone who does not realize the need for a drastic change in how this country that we live in has I have never felt anything like being at this rally, surrounded by these people. I saw the first black president speak two days before he was elected. I was there. We were there. Andy and I will tell our children and grandchildren the jokes that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Barack</span> Obama told on stage that night and of how important he has already at this point been to the world. I am so proud to be alive and able to experience this most important election in the history of the world. I was so elated to have been able to share this most amazing experience with the most important person in my world, Andy. I will be holding my breath until every last vote is counted. I can only hope that every person who was there will wait in line to vote for Obama and make history for as long as they did to hear him speak and witness history in the making.</div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"> </div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JXFO9aoUVNc&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JXFO9aoUVNc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left" align="center"> </div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div class="separator" style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left">Don't forget to vote! Don't think we have this one in the bag or that your voice isn't heard. Proud and driven people have died throughout history so that more than half of our population could have a choice. Let's make them proud. Vote not only in gratitude for our history, but for the hope of our future. Let's show the world how far we have come!</div>Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051357.post-53463812964581065822008-10-29T13:27:00.000-07:002008-10-31T10:16:06.349-07:00She Doesn't Believe in Science<div><span style="font-family:georgia;">Matt Damon on Sarah Palin:</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/C6urw_PWHYk&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/C6urw_PWHYk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span>Eve Ensler on Sarah Palin:</div><div><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=102668&rendTypeId=4"><img style="WIDTH: 550px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 365px" alt="" src="http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=102668&rendTypeId=4" border="0" /></a></span></div><div> </div><blockquote><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">"I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of<br />a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved<br />polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God." </span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are victims of rape and incest and who have been ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether or not they bear their rapist's child. </span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the<br />planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make<br />it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards<br />dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through<br />invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip<br />mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from<br />dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education<br />and health care or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will<br />determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of<br />fear, fundamentalism and aggression.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea,<br />more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes<br />in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?"</span></p></blockquote><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">When I read those words of Eve Ensler's, I couldn't have ever wished for anything more than that those words had originally come out of my brain and mouth exactly as they'd come out of hers. Everything she said was true to the sadness that I am consumed with when thinking that there is a single woman in this country that will be in support of her.<br /><br />I can't even put into words how deeply it hurts my heart to have an anti-woman woman be the first female on a presidential ticket in this country and I've been on a crusade against her from the second she was announced as McCains running mate. I considered his assumption that we as females would vote for her based solely on the fact that she is a woman to be an insult to the intelligence of American women as a whole. Did you really think that I wouldn't find out about the fact that Sarah Palin beleif system sets us back centuries, even before the time of Women's Suffrage and the Women's Rights Movement? Did you think I wouldn't find out that she would proudly overturn the laws which give women the choices that they have? </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Did you think I wasn't intelligent enough to discover that.... </span></div><br /><ul><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">As mayor of Wasilla, Palin forced victims of rape to pay for their own forensic evidence kits</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin is opposed to abortion in cases of rape and incest (even if victims are children)</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin believes creationism should be taught in public schools</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">While mayor of Wasilla, Palin tried to fire the librarian because she refused to censor books </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin has no international experience and only obtained her first passport just last year.</span><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nokTjEdaUGg&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nokTjEdaUGg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin supports the Alaskan Independence Party which seeks independence from the USA </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Alaskan bipartisan legislative investigation ruled Sarah Palin abused her power and violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin offered a bounty of $150 for each left front leg of freshly killed wolves</span></li><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6T85cOGc8L0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6T85cOGc8L0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin promotes aerial hunting of wolves even though Alaskans voted twice to ban it</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin used $400,000 of state money to fund a propaganda campaign in support of aerial hunting</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin believes man-made global warming is a farce</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin strongly supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin is a champion for big oil and her campaign slogan has become "Drill, baby, drill!"</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin is suing the federal government to prevent listing the polar bear as an endangered species </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin is opposed to listing the unique Cook Inlet beluga whale as an endangered species </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Palin supports a constitutional ban on gay marriage </span></li></ul><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">The despair that I am overwhelmed with when I think that this woman could have anything to do with running this country absolutely terrifies me. If she could have her way, we would be back to the ways of the Victorian ages. It terrifies me that people are OK with her views as far as animal as well as human rights are concerned. The aeriel shooting of wolves and bears? Are you kidding me? This is one of the most barbaric acts of senseless violence I have ever seen. I cry tears when I think about the way these animals die. Sarah Palin is not only terrible for Alaska and The United States, but she is exponentially worse for the environment as well as the world.</span><br /></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Sarah Palin spent $400,000 of state money to "educate" Alaskans about aerial hunting of wolves and bears. State tax money was used to directly influence the outcome of proposition 2 which would have limited aerial shooting of predators. Since Alaskans had previously voted twice to ban aerial shooting of predators, Palin used state tax money to buy support for aerial shooting. Buying votes with tax money worked - proposition two was voted down on 8/26/08.<br /></span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">This year the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game will exterminate 1,400 bears out of a population of 2,000 in an area west of Anchorage. The Alaskan Board of Game even approved the hunting of black bear mothers and cubs with the goal of killing 60 percent of the black bear population. Although biologists have known since the 60's that predators actually keep prey populations healthy, Alaskan wolves and bears are being exterminated (using cruel practices such as baiting, trapping, and aerial shooting) to boost dwindling moose populations. Do we really want a vice president who doesn't believe in science? </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Sarah Palin sues the federal government over listing polar bears as a threatened species. Why? Because it could restrict the oil industry that fills her pockets. This is the same reason she wants to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling. Palin believes that global warming is a myth. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">Sarah Palin's voting record supports development of the Pebble Mine - the largest open pit mine in North America. Pebble mine jeopardizes the entire Bristol bay ecosystem which contains the largest sockeye salmon run in the world. The mine could pollute an unprecedented number or rivers, lakes, and bays. Although Palin claims that the mine would create jobs for Alaskans, it may effectively destroy the commercial and sport fishing industry in Bristol Bay - the main source of income for Alaskans in Bristol bay. Pebble Mine's potential for pollution makes the Exxon Valdez oil spill look like a tiny grease stain. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">The Alaska Board of Game makes most wildlife decisions in Alaska. The board is comprised entirely of trophy hunters, and not a single wildlife biologist or scientist is a member. Also lacking is any representation from Alaska's wildlife viewing and tourism industry. The most important decisions about wildlife in Alaska are decided by ignorant sport hunters with a total disregard for science. Palin even appointed her former middle school basketball coach to the board.</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:georgia;">In an interview with Katie Couric, Sarah Palin could not name one supreme court decision she disagrees with, even though this June the supreme court ruled in Baker v. Exxon - a case concerning Exxon's settlement with the state of Alaska over the devastating Exxon Valdez oil spill. The case resulted in a drastic reduction in the settlement - it was reduced from $5 billion to $507.5 million. Despite protests all across Alaska over the ruling, Sarah Palin supports the destruction of the Alaskan ecosystem and the commercial fishing industry in the name of big oil. Sarah Palin refuses to stand up to big oil - not exactly "maverick" leadership. </span></li></ul><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">I would like to state that though I choose a mainly plant based diet, I take have no issue with subsistence hunting (eating what you kill and killing only what you need and plan to eat). My issue is with trophy hunting, sport hunting, and senseless murder.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">I <strong>do not</strong> admire McCain for fighting for this country. I do not admire <strong>anyone</strong> for fighting or killing of any kind. Most of my ancestors are German. Many of whom were killed as civilians as well as military. The ones who did "survive" were damaged beyond repair both physically and psychologically. I do not admire war. I do not admire genocide.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">I voted today. I voted to keep my rights. I voted for a person who wants to not only save this country, but who want to save to world. I voted early to make 100% sure that there would be NOTHING from keeping me out of the poles. I brought my virtually silent and solitary crusade against Sarah Palin to an end today doing everything that I could do to keep her out of office. I voted for science. I voted for evolution. </span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">I voted for not Sarah Palin.</span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">I hope no one views this post as trying to sway opinions. We all have rights to them and to vote for who we individually believe has our best interest in mind and is most capable of making steps forward in improving the state of this country and nurturing the well being of the world.</span></p><br /><p>On a lighter note... It snowed in Cleveland today which can only mean one thing. The unfortunate and filthy state that my car is in is as clean as it will be until spring.</p>Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051357.post-34571226145208715722008-10-20T13:13:00.000-07:002008-10-24T14:19:14.926-07:00Spite O' Lanterns<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQI6HkW8SDI/AAAAAAAAAIU/JXmnTVIntIU/s1600-h/157.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260831216415557682" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQI6HkW8SDI/AAAAAAAAAIU/JXmnTVIntIU/s320/157.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>We live in the top half of a beautiful old home in a neighborhood currently under gentrification (otherwise known as "distracting the public from the area's drug and hooker problem with cute little boutiques and hip new bars/restaurants"). The trees that line the street and the children in their front yards are <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">reminiscent</span> of the safe quiet suburbs and the adults hollering swear words at their children and the jackass who ripped all of the baffles out of his crotch-rocket screaming down the street remind us that we are in fact, still within the city <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">limits of</span> Cleveland. We love it here. 2 of my jobs are within 3 blocks of our home, we are a 2 minute bike ride to the beach, and we have multiple friends that are near. The crazies, hipsters, families, young singles and couples, and people who have lived on this street for 50 years create a wonderful and diverse street full of characters and we wouldn't have it any other way. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div></div><div>Jason and Erin who own the house next door to us are great friends of ours that we hang out with regularly. Their tenants are also friends of mine, one of which I played roller derby with once upon a time. Paul, who I used to work with, lives down the street and frequently has us over for dinner and beers. The coffee shop at the top of our street is the best in the city and the local watering holes rival those of any other Cleveland neighborhoods. </div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>And then we have our housemates. The people who live downstairs from us. They are nice, clueless people who are so fanatically into their christian identities that they are incapable of forming complete sentences without including some "inspiration" from God. It's <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">absurd</span>. I take no issue with people who <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">believe</span> differently than I (staunch atheist, science nerd), but these people take it to an extreme that I have never seen before. They don't celebrate Halloween and will never let their children dress up or go trick-or-treating (a rite of human passage regardless of faith in my opinion). We still chat in the basement while doing laundry, exchange pleasantries in every passing, and deal with one another very well. Occasionally these people irritate us or do something moronic that inconveniences us sometimes for an entire day, like blocking us in the driveway and opting to walk to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">their</span> church where they stay for 9 hours (yes, that has actually happened and indeed more than once). </div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>Andy and I have decided that the best way to deal with the people that we basically live with is to do so passive aggressively and attempt to frighten them with our heathen ways. The first time they blocked us in our driveway, Andy spent the time that he had wanted to spend elsewhere on the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Internet</span>, buying a goat head pentagram shirt to wear every day for a week. He now wears this shirt every time he is irritated by the neighbors. A few days ago it <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">happened</span> again and we decided to take our game to a whole new level. It took a while to come up with a plan and then finally it dawned on me.... <strong>We will carve the most evil pumpkins we can possibly think of and display them proudly on the ledge of our balcony in the house where they live!!!</strong> We'll call them Spite O' Lanterns. Not only will they see them but so will their ten thousand church friends who come to our house and also block us into our driveway. </div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>The photo at the beginning of this post is one from a distance of our pretty house on our pretty street. Now here is a closeup of the Spite O' Lanterns that we painstakingly carved in a handful of hours and a span of two days.... Andy proudly takes credit of the pentagram and the Black Flag designs. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Samhain</span>/<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Danzig</span> (of course) ones are mine as well as the rest.<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQI381h-mdI/AAAAAAAAAH0/PyBh3kV_9aw/s1600-h/151.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260828833023433170" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQI381h-mdI/AAAAAAAAAH0/PyBh3kV_9aw/s200/151.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQI5MNIE7vI/AAAAAAAAAIE/4dpErPFVQRE/s1600-h/155.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260830196566912754" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQI5MNIE7vI/AAAAAAAAAIE/4dpErPFVQRE/s200/155.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQI4aGM31SI/AAAAAAAAAH8/Dn2wjc-0zwY/s1600-h/152.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260829335714518306" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQI4aGM31SI/AAAAAAAAAH8/Dn2wjc-0zwY/s200/152.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQI5pj5hA7I/AAAAAAAAAIM/L0XG8GrW6H8/s1600-h/154.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260830700896060338" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQI5pj5hA7I/AAAAAAAAAIM/L0XG8GrW6H8/s200/154.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Next time I'm making an "An Abortion Supporter Lives Here" flag to fly from the balcony :)</div></div></div></div>Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051357.post-47959026761783663562008-07-03T12:41:00.001-07:002008-12-08T22:32:40.397-08:00When it rains it pours....<ul><li> Andy was mugged and had his beautiful brand new bike violently taken from him. That's right. Someone beat up the happy guy who was riding his bike around town on a beautiful sunny day because that's what he likes to do on beautiful sunny days. I called all over the city to find an exact replica of said bike and bought the last one in the city for him to do the only thing I really could do to make this situation better (of course included with his replacement bike were unlimited hugs and smooches).</li><br /><li>Andy is involved in a 5 car pileup on the highway. He was the meat in the middle and his car is totalled. He is alive (thank god) but in pain and in need of physical therepy. We are broke monkeys and he is stressing about how to get a new car. I assure him that we will make it through this. We can live as a one car family until we can save up enough cash to get him his very own. We do just fine with one car. We both get to work, he gets to his physical therepy appointments Until...</li><br /><li>I went to pick Andy up from work for his physical therepy appointment. I arrive a little early so I turned off my car to wait for him. When he hopped in I started the car and immediately my engine light started flashing and white smoke started billowing out of the exhaust. I blew a goddamn headgasket. We made it to the mechanic who informed me that it would be a $2,108.78 repair. We mad the decision to go ahead with it because the car only has 64,000 miles on it and is in otherwise perfect condition. The bluebook value is $8,000.00</li><br /><li>I thought that I should drop my summer classes in order to work more. I wasn't able to drop the classes without paying full price for them. So, I stayed in school unsure of how I was to get to work.</li><br /><li>My dad brought me up his "Shaggin' Wagon" to borrow until I could get my car back. This beast of a van is a 1986 Chevy conversion van. It is absurd. I need to take photos of it. Words could never do it justice. So here I am... the enviornmentalist driving around an oil burning, gas guzzling monster. I hate myself for it. I've ONLY been driving it to school and back or to the grocery store if I can't fit what I need in the baskets of my bike.</li><br /><li>I find this gorgeous dog in my backyard who has tags. I make all of the neccesary phone calls and find that the phone number that he is registered to is disconnected and no one lives at the house he registered to. I walk him around the nighborhood for HOURS to see if anyone knows where he lives. Finally a nice man that owns a little machine shop at the end of my street says that he's seen the dog around and has been trying to get ahold of the dog for days to feed him and put up a sign. I can't keep the dog because he seems a little too interested in cats. Not like he wants to kill them, but like he thinks that they are toys to be tossed around like rag dolls. I have a cat and a skunk. The nice man agreed to keep him until we could locate his owner or find him a forever home. I agree to help care for him. Walk him, buy food, hang out with him (I was actually quite in love with this dog and super excited to be able to help him). I spent all of my spare time for DAYS either with this dog, or working to find his owner/a new home for him. I really enjoy helping helpless creatures. I fell head over heels in love with this dog and I thought he fell in love with me too. He was all over me. Kissing my face, being a doll. Anytime I was with him he needed to be physically touching me. I hated leaving him, but had two potential new homes for him and was really excited about it.</li><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218891200331630642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SG055VUtyDI/AAAAAAAAAEs/i-k-MrnYuZ0/s200/215877302917_0_0.jpg" border="0" /><br /><li>I get my car back yesterday. I stopped to make a payment (of $900 still owing $400). The mechanic allows me to take my car trusting that I will pay him next payday. I'm thinking that my luck must be changing. Finally.</li><br /><li>I drive my freshly repaired car to the store and buy a bag of food and a rawhide for the rescued dog. I stop by to deliver the goods and play with the dog for a little bit. I give him his bone and he licked it, then licked my face. So cute. I poured him a bowl full of food and waited until he was finished eating and away from his dish to go hang out with him. No warning, no growling, no mowhawk..... the dog attacked me. And I don't mean that he bit me playfully not realizing his own strength.... the dog mauled me. I can't recall what exactly happened but I think that the woman who ran to my aid must have startled him off of me. I was in such shock.... I kept feeling my face and throat thinking that he had got me there. Fortunately, he only got my arm. Unfortunately, he got it really bad. He had me by the arm and shook ME around like I was a little rag doll. There was fat hanging out of holes in my arm and I didn't stop bleeding for HOURS after the attack. We spent all night in the emergency room. It was so bad that they had to x-ray me for fear that he had pierced the bone. They prescribed me $150.00 antibiotics on the same day that I payed rent and gave my mechanic $900. I can't work for at least a week and when I go back I have to limit the use of my right arm. I'm a right handed fucking bartender. This should be fun.</li></ul><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260798508488243074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 256px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQIcXt1Yt4I/AAAAAAAAAGU/ria_fq-rHpU/s320/ouch.jpg" border="0" /> <p></p><ul><li>I cried like a baby at the Pharmacy when they told me how much my prescription would cost and they gave me a deal, knocking it half off. It was still a punch in the face but not as hard. Maybe NOW my luck will start to change. I guess I shouldn't say that though..... my house will probably burn down.<br /></li></ul>Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051357.post-59173922729872308402008-06-06T04:44:00.001-07:002008-10-24T13:01:44.456-07:00Bad Blog Mom<div align="left">I have been severely neglecting my blog. Rightfully so, I do believe.<br /><br />I have have been the busiest of bees ever since I started school two weeks ago. I most certainly did NOT realize that the summer quarter was accelerated. I am only taking two classes and my head is constantly spinning. I'm trying to take care of my house, nurture my relationship, work, spend time with my precious animals, eat, study, do mountains of homework, and still find a moment here and there to have fun. As much as I'm struggling with it, I think I'm close to getting into the groove. It's nice to have something to do and I'm learning a lot. If I can make it through this... I can make it through anything. I have one more payment to make and god knows how much money worth of photography supplies to purchase before my student loans go through. Ugh. Hopefully I don't go broke. I think that with my summer installment of loans that I will get some new glasses and a lovely yellow laptop.<br /><br />Veronica joined me for my evening with the Architects and it was incredible. I love those boys with all of my heart and more. What great friends and handsome devils they are! I drank like I was 21 years old that night and felt it for 2 days after. I am getting so old and boring. (See below)</div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQIgECRD0sI/AAAAAAAAAHU/3k2vYLztOfk/s1600-h/Dewey+042.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260802568422150850" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQIgECRD0sI/AAAAAAAAAHU/3k2vYLztOfk/s200/Dewey+042.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQIfyrN3bkI/AAAAAAAAAHM/VUraebF0jX8/s1600-h/Dewey+041.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260802270176964162" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQIfyrN3bkI/AAAAAAAAAHM/VUraebF0jX8/s200/Dewey+041.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQIfhxvcILI/AAAAAAAAAHE/B8NHUoXzi9A/s1600-h/Dewey+045.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260801979870617778" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQIfhxvcILI/AAAAAAAAAHE/B8NHUoXzi9A/s200/Dewey+045.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQIfSuLfXvI/AAAAAAAAAG8/rnh7ZGSiTMA/s1600-h/Dewey+035.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260801721216491250" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQIfSuLfXvI/AAAAAAAAAG8/rnh7ZGSiTMA/s200/Dewey+035.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="left"><br /><br />My tattoo artist who is also one of my childhood best friends blew me off again for my octopus tattoo so my arms are still blank canvases. I guess that's what happens when you aren't a paying customer. You get pushed aside. Understandable, though frustrating. I've told her that I'll pay her. I don't expect free tattoos. She refuses to take my money and those god damned paying customers keep stealing my appointments.<br /><br />I also went to see one my favorite bands of all time, The Breeders, last week. A-freaking-mazing. I can't believe how awesome they were. I was actually heartbroken when they finished. Once again I drank like a champ and felt like a loser the next day. When your friends are bartending... you have no choice. The shots are enormous and plentiful. I should have puked. I fought tooth and nail to stay awake during my 5 hour lecture class the next day. Awful, awful, awful. No more shows on school nights for sure. Below is a crappy video I took while at the show...</div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dycSsZJrDp2jBbEy3SoABek3g4Jgt4XScJU8TzWCM2dRdD2-pbjYw2ceT3_YT7O6WoetVhk1AYf8zQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="left">I've been obsessed with a few things lately.... </div><ol><li><div align="left"><strong>My balcony:</strong> I want a tropical paradise on my balcony. Sadly, I have the blackest of black thumbs. I've been comprising a list of plants that are hard to kill (I'm so guilty of homicide of the horticultural degree) to try to create this paradise. I want more seating in order to make my balcony "the place to be" this summer. It's such a happy place. </div></li><li><div align="left"><strong>Plants in general:</strong> I want to redeem myself for all of the plants I have murdered. I want beautiful plants and have been studying my ass off in order to take a break from school studying. I found <a href="http://logees.com/">this amazing website</a> for tropical plants and can't freaking WAIT to order from them. I'm hoping that the explicit care instructions may help me succeed as a plant parent.</div></li><li><div align="left"><strong>Taking better care of myself:</strong> I am desperate to quit smoking. I have already cut down on my drinking so much that 1 glass of wine makes me all warm and fuzzy (as opposed to a bottle or more). I ordered some workout videos, a yoga video, a balance ball, resistance bands, and some hand weights. I solicited all the best advice from my health guru friend, Meagan, that she could give me about a healthier diet. I want to ride my bike everywhere I can. Sadly, I won't be riding it to school because I am not interested in riding my bike through the projects I would need to go through to get there. But I want to ride my bike to work every day. Starting today. She's so beautiful.... I need to show her off a little more anyway. Here she is being admired by my lovely boy...</div></li></ol><ol><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260805267615016530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SQIihJiyZlI/AAAAAAAAAHc/28wd6ydPDek/s320/Dewey+060.JPG" border="0" /><br /><li><strong>My home:</strong> I love it so much. I have so much I want to do. As a renter my options are limited, but there's still a lot. I want new furniture. I have a vision of my entire house exactly as I want it. New furniture, plants, better organization. Unfortunately the only feasible option until I get my student loans is the organization. I've been working my tail off on that so when I actually have money that I'm ready to go. </li><li><strong>Taking better care of the earth:</strong> God, I've become such a hippy. How un-punk-rock of me. Though, my punk as fuck days are long over. I did OK on my own. Then I've learned so much from Andy since he's been around. Together we are better than either on of us ever was individually. However, we can always do more. Everything we do is now simply a part of our life and routine. We don't even have to think about it anymore. I think it's time to challenge ourselves with some more ways to lessen our impact and be greener. I've got a list and will of course speak of our progress.</li></ol><div align="left">Now I have to go wash my white girl afro and get ready to ride my bike to work so that I can make the money to turn my house into a tropical paradise :) I promise to write again soon! I will update this post with photos later today.</div>Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051357.post-80379058972363402952008-05-21T09:02:00.000-07:002008-05-21T09:24:17.750-07:00Costa Rica will have to waitI went to Mansfield to get the camera from my mother for the photography class that I will be taking this summer. It was a brief and lovely visit. I got to see me precious baby sister in her prom dress and introduce Dewey to my mother's three miniature wiener dogs. Good ol' mom sent me off with four giant bins of things that she had saved for me. There is every work of art I ever made for her and, homework from throughout my childhood, things I made for her, stuffed animals, and best of all... PHOTOGRAPHS!! So many photographs. I bought a giant photo album and can't wait to got through the boxes to make the album. Maybe I'll even frame some of my grade school artwork!<br /><br />I met with the instructor to be approved for the Tropical Biology class that would take me to Costa Rica in August. She was a lovely woman and I loved her right away. She has a fiery passion for teaching the subjects that she does and she is so enthusiastic. She told me all about the class and the trip, showing me a million photos and a PowerPoint presentation. We met for two hours and my desire to learn this subject and take this exact trip is stronger than ever. I don't think I've ever been so excited for anything. Unfortunately, the entire cost of the trip (all inclusive) is due within 3 weeks of today. I can not come up with that kind of money on such short notice. I will have to wait and take it in the spring along with her ecology and evolution class. I really look forward to taking her classes and travelling with such a knowledgeable and compassionate guide.<br /><br />So, I will be taking my photography class and my first required psychology class this summer and starting a savings for my trip to Costa Rica this time next year. I went ahead and purchased the required and recommended texts for the Tropical Biology class so that I can get a jump start on learning.<br /><br />My ex-husband has been contacting me regarding the savings account that he drank away yesterday. Seems that he's feeling some remorse for the way he treated me and would like to rectify the things that he actually can. He said that he will never be able to express how sorry he is for the way that he treated me and that he hopes that someday I will be able to forgive him and that he's glad that I've found someone who treats me the way I deserve. It was nice to hear. I often had visions of him telling all of his friends and family what a bitch I was and how I didn't "try hard enough". It's nice to know that isn't the case and that he recognizes that I did everything I could. That I left him because all I did was try and I ran out of steam. It was also nice to let him know that I'm not angry with him anymore and that I truly do wish the best for him.<br /><br />I'm getting tattooed tomorrow and seeing the Architects! YAY!!!<br /><br />I've decided that I'm not happy with the layout of my blog and am going to do some shifting around... so if you are here within the next hour or so please forgive the clutter!Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051357.post-23383908991647039582008-05-17T08:27:00.000-07:002008-12-08T22:32:41.099-08:00Best week everMy best week ever begins tomorrow.<br /><br /><br />I will be travelling South to Mansfield to pick up a couple of cameras from my mother for my photography class. I'll be having some serious hang time with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">fam</span> and maybe a few friends too.<br /><br /><br />Monday I will be working a double. Ugh. A minor setback during my week of pure awesome-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ness</span>.<br /><br /><br />Tuesday I will be meeting with the instructors of the Tropical Biology class that will take me to the Costa <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Rica</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">rainforest</span> in August. I'm not sure what her approval of me will be based on but I am so nervous. Prior to this meeting I will be going to get my passport application so that nothing gets in my way as far as going to Costa Rica is concerned.<br /><br /><br />Wednesday I work again. My week will not be tarnished. I foresee ONE MILLION DOLLARS on this evening (OK, so maybe a couple of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">hundred</span>). Hopefully it will be a day of bragging about how I was accepted into the Tropical biology class on the basis of my sparkling personality and great hair.<br /><br /><br />Thursday is the day of days! It will all begin with a trip to visit my beautiful friend, <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=1078015&MyToken=1d9e3173-7e07-486b-b02c-f1a64070ac9d">Tina the tattoo artist</a>. We have been best friends since junior high and now she is going to mark me for life with an amazing octopus design that another of my childhood <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">besties</span> did. Low and behold... my octopus <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">tattoo</span>!!!<br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201372820193469570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SC79BZwA5II/AAAAAAAAACw/Gd8vN1aR16M/s320/140114328_a18816766a_b.jpg" border="0" />Isn't she beautiful? I can't wait to have one of my oldest and dearest friends permanently engrave an image into my arm that another of my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">oldest</span> and dearest created. Awesome.</p><p>After my tattoo is complete... I will head out to the East Side to see my good friends, The Architects, play at the Grog shop. I took the next day off in order to recover and hopefully suck all of the quality time out of the handsome fellas pictured below that I possibly can.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201373730726536338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QRnGud8MicY/SC792ZwA5JI/AAAAAAAAAC4/_n41DbUMJQo/s320/l_70dc7b82cb29b3dae222e3c833d9489c.jpg" border="0" />The only thing that saddens me is that my sweet Mike A. won't be in tow, as he left the band this past October. Therefore, I have no idea who that man to the far right in the above photograph is. </p><p>I have my usual Saturday and Sunday off to spend with Andy and back to regular life on Monday.</p><p>I think today that I will get my oil changed, do some grocery shopping, and then go SCHOOL SUPPLY SHOPPING! I can't <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">believe</span> I'm so excited to do so. </p><p>The queen of dorks has left the building.</p>Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051357.post-32150026041087126612008-05-14T10:38:00.000-07:002008-05-17T09:11:55.862-07:00It's all coming together now.Everything seems to be falling in place.<br /><br />Originally I planned to start school in the fall to begin taking my prerequisites for the nursing program. Once I had finished doing all of the things I needed to do (change identity, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">FAFSA</span>, student loan application, scholarship application, orientations, guidance <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">counselor</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">appointments</span>, student ID, transcripts from high school,), I decided to go ahead and register for some summer classes as to not lose steam.<br /><br />At first for the summer I was registered for Intro to Black and White Photography and Intro to Humanities. I have since decided to drop the humanities course and get the first of my <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">psychology</span> requirement out of the way. Now I am trying to drop that and pick up a Tropical Biology course that ends with a field study trip in Costa Rica. We'll see though. The <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">curriculum</span> guide says that I need to have either completed or be taking a concurrent science class in order to be eligible. They are trying to fill the class so it doesn't get cancelled so I'm working with the instructors trying to get by that pesky little rule. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to take the concurrent science course, there just aren't any available that fit in with the rest of my summer schedule. We'll see how it goes. The course has been offered for the last 7 years so I'll get my chance eventually!<br /><br />I've purchased my photography book and am just waiting for the word to see whether I should purchase a Psych book, or a Tropical Biology book. This weekend I plan to buy a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">book bag</span>, binder, pens, and all of the other supplies I will need to start school. I can't <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">believe</span> how excited I am.<br /><br />I've registered for my summer and fall courses at the Metro campus here in Cleveland due to the short distance from my home and work. Now that I have visited the campus a number of times and researched all of the campuses, I have decided to move to the Western campus in the Spring. There are 2 reasons for this First of all, there are just more options as far as classes go. Metro doesn't offer any unique courses that I'm interested in. There is so much more variety as the Western Campus. Secondly, it is SO GHETTO at the Metro campus. It's surrounded by projects and in a very high crime area. So, I'll take my basic prerequisites at Metro and move once I have time for the cooler classes. I just have to try not to get too ambitious and be sure that I can transfer whatever credits I have toward my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">BSN</span> and Masters. Someday I'll be a school nurse.<br /><br />Work has gotten better as well. My schedule is all worked out (for now) and I'm enjoying my weeks. I have plenty of alone time, plenty of time with Andy, and am working plenty. I'll be sacrificing the alone time once school starts, but that's <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">OK</span>.<br /><br />Home is great, as always. I love having a place that is HOME and not just where I keep my stuff and sleep. It's been so long since I've felt this way. I now <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">believe</span> a happy home life is the catalyst for all other things good in life. Ever since Andy and I have been together and especially living together, everything else just seems to be falling into place so easily. He truly is my muse and good luck charm.<br /><br />I finally finished the scarf I've been working on since December and started the hat to match. This will be the last "tiny needles" knitting project I'll even begin for a very long time.Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051357.post-1629068571085146722008-04-16T10:02:00.000-07:002008-04-16T10:05:00.031-07:00Nothing makes me happier...and I mean NOTHING makes me happier than people gagging. This is why I am the queen of revolting stories. I keep my friends that gag easily closer than others. That my friends, is why I love this video.<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dfiOBX0nXhM&hl=" width="425" height="355" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed>Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051357.post-54964496797159401372008-04-16T07:59:00.000-07:002008-04-16T08:34:20.320-07:00I should have known it wouldn't be easy...I sent in my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">FAFSA</span> forms for financial aid so that I can get my student loans. I couldn't <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">believe</span> how easy it was. I checked back on my status and it seems that because of my divorce, and how lazy I have been about changing everything back to my maiden name, there was some confusion. Though my I.D., paychecks, credit card, and bank account still all have my married name on them... I am legally known by my maiden name. Ugh.<br /><br />So I will be spending this lovely sunny day driving around the greater Cleveland area to get a new driver's licence, to the bank to have my name changed on my accounts and order new checks/bank card, to the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">school</span> I will be attending to have everything there changed, and back home to call <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">FAFSA</span> and straighten everything out.<br /><br />I guess getting free money from the government isn't as easy as I had hoped. This all has to be taken care of by June 1st. I'll just die if this doesn't happen.<br /><br />I hate my new schedule at work. HATE IT. I was the lunchtime bartender Monday through Friday since about last October. I would stay through <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">happy</span> hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, and some Fridays. Some weeks were great. Others I didn't make enough to live on. I begged the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">management</span> to help me come up with a way that we could make this job one that not only myself, but someone else would want to have. No one would help me so I went back to waiting tables at night Tues., Weds., and Thurs. while keeping my lunch/happy hour bar shifts Monday and Friday. I HATE it. Even though now I am making the kind of money one would expect working for an Iron Chef at the City's best restaurant.<br /><br />I miss my boyfriend more than words can express. When I get home from work he is struggling to stay awake just to say hello and give me a kiss goodnight :( I miss our daily dose of jeopardy. I miss getting up, going to work, and having the rest of the day to do whatever. Not having to cram the things I have to do in before I go to work. I hate having the dark cloud of work looming over me all damn day. I like to get the bullshit over with and THEN enjoy myself, not the other way around. It's taking some serious getting used to.<br /><br />I suppose it is best to get used to this schedule now as opposed to starting school and just altering everything.<br /><br />On a lighter note, I got ready to go to work yesterday, picked up my carpool buddy, found some super sweet parking (which means I didn't have to pay $10 to valet for work), went on to work and ate some delicious shift meal before realizing that I was off for the day! I think that being under the impression that I was on the schedule and then getting to dance out of that dreadful place made me appreciate my night off with Andy even more than I typically would have (which is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">ALOT</span>). I made some delicious dinner (not delicious enough to post a recipe). I watched some much needed jeopardy with my wonderful fella and my best friend, Travis. I went to bed early after a glass of wine and some serious awesome alone time with my man. It was perfect.<br /><br />Off to the shower I go, to get ready for my day of cramming my identity change in before 3:30pm. Wish me luck!Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14051357.post-59605035860653067302008-04-11T07:41:00.000-07:002008-04-11T07:49:12.598-07:00Funny Little ThingsI love the strange little notes that I find around the house that Andy has left for himself. He's such a quirky, funny, wonderful man.<br /><br />Today's reads:<br /><br /><ul><li>Stephanie Barrow Christmas Day</li><li>Now and Forever Danielle Steele</li><li>Clip the dog's toenails</li><li>Get Larry Flynt's address</li><li>Charles Barkley</li></ul><p>Hillarious. God, I love him. I also recently found a list titled, "Celebrities I'd like to take a swing at". It reads as follows:</p><ul><li>Bono</li><li>Dane Cook</li><li>Avril Levigne</li><li>Sting</li><li>Gwen Stefani</li><li>Fergie</li><li>Sean "Puffy" Combs</li><li>Puff Daddy</li><li>P. Diddy</li><li>Diddy</li><li>Kobe Bryant</li><li>Dave Navarro</li><li>Madonna</li><li>That guy who married Demi Moore</li><li>Tommy Lee</li></ul><p>Looks like good ol' Puffy gets a punch for each one of his stupid nickname changes....</p><p> </p>Nataliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10317853143633801718noreply@blogger.com0