my needs - part 2

It arrives today, and I need it. But I'm gonna wait until at least November. All the bugs should be fixed by then, and our mobile contract with Sprint will be up. And unlike the four previous mobile phones that I've owned, I will not leave the iPhone in my pants pocket and run it through the washing machine. This, I promise.

summer vaca - day one

Got up fairly early, watered the lawn and flowers. Gave the dog a bath. By myself. In the kiddie pool that I borrowed from Tom and Brett. I was going to try to take pictures of this, but couldn't handle the dog, water and camera all at once. Perhaps the rest of the week I'll lounge by the "pool." Ran some errands and prepped dinner for when Greg gets home. It's been a good day.

words

I don't want tolerance.
I want equality.
You tolerate a bad pair of shoes.
You tolerate sweaty hands.
You don't tolerate a human being.
You accept them.

-Martina Navratilova

i'm angry

We've been having outage issues with our internet for about a week now. Most times it works, occasionally it doesn't connect. When I got home from work yesterday I found that there was no connection and our digital phone was out too. Thank god the cable and DVR still worked, or might have just jumped out the second floor window and hurt myself. Well after being on hold for 20 minutes with a company that rhymes with Lime Warmer Sable, the chickee-poo on the line said that she wasn't sure what was wrong, but it should be fixed in a couple of hours. A couple of hours later (around 10 pm to be exact) still no phone and still no internet. I called again. This time I was only on hold for about 15 minutes (speedy, aren't they.) Well this dude of a customer service agent couldn't find any notes on my account of the specifics of my problem, but did say that someone had scheduled a service call to our house for tomorrow. Well that would have been nice to know... They will stop by sometime between 8 am and 8 pm. Now there's a window (big enough to jump out of). Oh, but they'll call 30 minutes before they arrive. So now I get to be anxious all day at work, waiting for the call, so I can bee-line it out of our congested parking deck, through downtown traffic, and home in under 30 minutes. You'd think that by paying in excess of $100/month you'd get better service. Guess not. We're possibly looking for a change in providers this fall.

my needs - an ongoing series

One of Greg's favorite things about me is when I say that, "I need this or that." Not that I want something. That I need something. So, I thought that it might be fun to do a series on just the things that I need. After all, maybe you guys want to buy me these things. Ok, that might just be wishful thinking on my part. Anywho, here's my need for today...

Minicards from moo.com. Here's the web site's description of them.

MiniCards are little cards with your photos on one side, and your details on the other. Moo like to think of them as little calling-cards, cards you hand out to keep in touch with friends, or new people you meet.

They combine two of my favorite things, the pictures I take, and my blog. I can have the web site printed right on the back with other contact information. I just think they are a lot of fun. And you get 100 for around $25. That includes shipping! So, I'll probably be saving up some of my allowance for this purchase. Or, if you'd like to purchase them for me, I'll just need your credit card information... Didn't think so...

funday sunday

Today was a beautiful day. We started out with a bike ride in Michele's neighborhood. We stopped and visited for a bit with Michele. Her brother was there too. It was nice to see Gary. In order to completely void the exercise we had with the bike ride, we stopped at the newish Highland Square Chipotle for lunch. Does it count as health food if you have your bikes on the back of your car? No, probably not, but it was dang tasty y'all. Came home and rested a bit, then we headed out to my old stomping grounds of Wadsworth, Ohio. First stop, Kohl's to find some swim trunks for Greg. No luck there, so we headed down the plaza to Target. Success, we found some nice sage-green colored trunks. For dinner we headed to Marie's Pizza. They built a new Marie's in the commercial area of town. It's much larger and nicer than the old Marie's which could be best described as more of a dive. The pizza was just as good as I remembered from years ago. What are my plans for the coming week, you might ask? Well, I work Monday and Tuesday, then I'm off till after the July 4th holiday. During my time off, I don't plan on doing much more than sleeping in and relaxing. Want to hang out while I'm off? Drop me a note, or give me a call. Peace.

my current summer mix of tunes

Here's what is filling my ears with joy at the moment...

akron area fountains - part 1

It's summer time, and nothing says summer more to me than fountains. They are like a refreshing oasis in a hot and dry cityscape. Today is the first in my series of fountains in the greater Akron area. Greg and I went in search of fountains today and came across about half a dozen in just one afternoon. Throughout the summer I'll share my photos of these fountains. If you know of fountains in the area, please leave a comment on the blog so that I can include them.
The first fountain is my favorite in the area. It sits in front of the E.J. Thomas Perfoming Arts Hall on The University of Akron's campus. It's a simple and perfectly round fountain. And larger than you might expect from the photo. You can't see it in this photo, but we saw a red apple floating in the fountain this afternoon. I guess there are worse things that could be floating in there.

pass it on...

Several years ago I had the privilege to hear Judy Shepard speak at the University of Akron. It was very powerful. Hate crimes legislation has been around for years. It is certainly time to finally pass it. Please write or call your senator today.

guilty pleasures : summer edition

Here's a quick list of some of the stuff that's bound to occupy my interest this summer.

• Reality food shows - Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef:Miami and The Next Food Network Star
• Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne - What the neighbors must think? I play it really loud and dance around the house to this song.
• Flavor of Love: Charm School on VH1 - Truly trashy and almost over, but I love love love it.
• Yours Truly, Angry Mob by the Kaiser Chiefs - A really great album from start to finish.
• Little People Big World on TLC - I don't know why, but I love this show. I could watch a 12 hour marathon of this show.
• Big Brother 8 - Starts July 5th!

And last, but certainly not least...

• Hey Paula - The Paula Abdul reality show on Bravo. All I've seen are the commercials and they crack me up every time.

this past weekend

Had a wonderful Saturday. My sister Julie and her family came over for a cookout. I made too many hotdogs. I had picked up a few craft sets from Martha's new craft line. Puppets for Macy to make and paper bead necklaces for Becca. Here's a short video of Macy playing with her puppets. As you can see, Martha needs to find suppliers with a bit stronger adhesive for the puppet kits. It's always great to spend time with the Miller's.

loving

Forty years ago today, Mildred Loving and her husband Richard won a Supreme Court case. You see, they were an interracial couple married in Washington D.C., but living in Virgina where it was not legal for blacks to marry whites. They were arrested for loving one another. What follows is a public statement that Mrs. Loving released today. Her eloquent words speak volumes on how far this country has come, and yet how far it still needs to go in allowing marriage for all of its citizens.

When my late husband, Richard, and I got married in Washington, DC in 1958, it wasn’t to make a political statement or start a fight. We were in love, and we wanted to be married.


We didn’t get married in Washington because we wanted to marry there. We did it there because the government wouldn’t allow us to marry back home in Virginia where we grew up, where we met, where we fell in love, and where we wanted to be together and build our family. You see, I am a woman of color and Richard was white, and at that time people believed it was okay to keep us from marrying because of their ideas of who should marry whom.


When Richard and I came back to our home in Virginia, happily married, we had no intention of battling over the law. We made a commitment to each other in our love and lives, and now had the legal commitment, called marriage, to match. Isn’t that what marriage is?


Not long after our wedding, we were awakened in the middle of the night in our own bedroom by deputy sheriffs and actually arrested for the “crime” of marrying the wrong kind of person.


Our marriage certificate was hanging on the wall above the bed. The state prosecuted Richard and me, and after we were found guilty, the judge declared: “Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.” He sentenced us to a year in prison, but offered to suspend the sentence if we left our home in Virginia for 25 years exile.


We left, and got a lawyer. Richard and I had to fight, but still were not fighting for a cause. We were fighting for our love.


Though it turned out we had to fight, happily Richard and I didn’t have to fight alone. Thanks to groups like the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, and so many good people around the country willing to speak up, we took our case for the freedom to marry all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And on June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that, “The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men,” a “basic civil right.”


My generation was bitterly divided over something that should have been so clear and right. The majority believed that what the judge said, that it was God’s plan to keep people apart, and that government should discriminate against people in love. But I have lived long enough now to see big changes. The older generation’s fears and prejudices have given way, and today’s young people realize that if someone loves someone they have a right to marry.


Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the “wrong kind of person” for me to marry. I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights.


I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.

basil update

My co-worker Patty brought me in a lovely pot of sweet basil that she grew from seed. I'm going to add that to the other basil that I purchased at Donzell's today. I also picked up three varieties of italian parsley and some lavender.

the weekend....so far

Saturday morning, I woke up from almost eleven hours of sleep. I went to bed at 9:30pm on Friday night. I love a good night's sleep. We did a little house cleaning and laundry in the morning and then ran a few errands. I had to work Saturday night. We had our first teen rock band showcase at the library. I had my reservations going into this program, but it turned out really well. There were seven bands, and they were actually pretty good. I think that this was probably the coolest program that we've done in the two and a half years that the new Main Library's been open. Everyone had a great time and I'm sure we'll repeat it again next year.
Today, Greg and I met Megan and Michele at Max and Erma's for lunch. (gee that was a lot of names.) We had a nice silly time, the waiter earned his wages today. I'm back at work this afternoon for a bit. We have a dance group in the Auditorium this week. This afternoon, they are laying the dance floor on the stage. This weekend is all about the over time.
This afternoon I ran to the garden center looking for some basil to plant in one of my containers. They only had obscure varieties left, and they looked kind of strangely. I was looking for simple sweet basil. If anyone knows where I can find some, please comment below. So instead I headed over towards the hens and chicks. Martha did a layout on them last year, I think. I remember that when I was a child, my dad had them planted around one of the corners of the house. I've always been fascinated by them. So I picked up three varieties, only two were labeled. One is Sempervivum 'Sunset' and the other is Sempervivum 'Red Beauty'. I think they are pretty cool, I was able to add a few others that our neighbor Marilyn gave me last Summer. Looking forward to the beauty of this very low maintenance plant.

feist music video

This is a very cool video from Feist. I enjoy the song a lot, but the video is extremely cool too. It looks like it was filmed in just one continuous take.

berries & cream

Y'all know how much I like my candy. Here's a bizarre, yet very funny commercial from our friends at Starburst. The chant will be stuck in your head for hours.

sub-lime

Have I mentioned just how much I enjoy this flavor of gum? It's incredibly tasty. Mint Mojito rocks.

my current top 20 songs

movie wrap up

This past weekend Greg and I went to the theater to see Knocked Up, the new movie from Judd Apatow, the guy who brought us The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Knocked Up was a really funny, yet touching movie. I highly recommend it. Yeah, there's the obligitory potty humor, but the chemistry between Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen is spot on. Extra credit points to Apatow for using his own two daughters in the movie. They steal every scene they are in.
We also rented a couple movies. One good, Little Children, a beautifully crafted film. And one really bad, Because I Said So, it was awful. Great cast, but a terribly predictable story.

me in recovery

Here's a very short video of me in the recovery room following my back surgery in February. As you can see I was still pretty medicated. Notice the Diet Coke product placement. I should get some cash for that. Props to expert interview and camera skills of Michele.

welcome back

I've moved my blog back to blogger.com. I spent a year away with the apple site and iWeb. I just couldn't justify spending the $100 a year for the web hosting over there. Blogger is free, and though it's not as visually stunning as the stuff I was doing with iWeb, it will serve the purpose, is a bit easier to use, and I can update it anywhere from any pc. With iWeb, I always had to access my blog from home if I wanted to update it. So welcome back to blogger. Hopefully you will get more timely updates and more silly musings from me.