Friday, March 30, 2012

Bad Ass Woman Bringing Women's Month to a Close


“Kathrine Switzer is the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entry. She entered and completed the race in 1967, five years before women were officially allowed to compete in it. At twenty years old, she registered under the gender-neutral ‘K. V. Switzer’. Race official Jock Semple attempted to remove her from the race, and is noted to have shouted, ‘Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers.’ However, Switzer’s boyfriend, who was running with her, shoved Semple aside and sent him flying. Her boyfriend then, along with other male runners, formed a protective barrier for Switzer for the remainder of the race. The photographs taken of the incident made world headlines.”

How stinkin' awesome, right?

Friday, March 23, 2012

Cirque du Soleil Totem

It's no secret; I miss Totem. Like, a lot. A lot, a lot.

Which is why this makes my heart smile and want to break down and cry all at the same time.

I love those frogs. I love every single person in the show and behind the scenes that I got the opportunity to work and play and build a relationship with. I have some of the most amazing memories from my time with Totem. I learned and saw and experienced so much. I wouldn't trade my time with them for anything and I can't believe they've been gone from my life for a year.

Wahhhhhh!! [Imagine me pouting with a frown and pretending to cry]

CALLING ALL HUMANS

To anyone who doesn't think adoption, spaying/neutering, fostering, volunteering, donating, etc. is important, have a look at this album.

Yes, it's sad- devastating even- to see that all these innocent animals were euthanized. What's possibly even sadder is that this is only in ONE small county (Gaston), and that it is only since the beginning of 2012. It's March 23. That's 188 animals in only 82 days. At the current rate, that means nearly 900 animals will be PTS in this shelter alone this year. If that is the average for every county in NC (which it won't be-some higher, some lower), 90,000 animals will be put to sleep in North Carolina in 2012. A lot of these animals were unfortunately only given a short amount of time in the shelter before being PTS because of the the sheer volume of animals being picked up and surrendered everyday; there just isn't enough space.

This is not these animals' fault; this is 100% in the hands of humans. And I'm not talking about the workers and volunteers working tirelessly and exhausting every effort (in Gaston County and across the nation); those people are angels. It is unfortunate that those are the people- who love and advocate for these animals- who end up having to pick up the pieces and euthanize them when they should've had a chance. That we are allowing this to happen as a civilized nation is atrocious and we should all be ashamed. Wake up people. This can be prevented.

Reputable breeders DO NOT sell their animals at pet stores.
Dogs from pet stores are the product of puppy mills. Period. These dogs are kept in small crates, bred repeatedly, and are usually not even familiar with human interaction or the feeling of grass under their little paws. Puppy mills not only create a cruel and disgusting life for dogs, but there is so much inbreeding to create as many litters (profit) as possible that a majority of the puppies are doomed from an early age to have many health issues throughout their lives, compounded with a short life span.

ADOPT. SPAY/NEUTER. DONATE. VOLUNTEER.

Do your part to help humanity. This extends to local, national, foreign, animal, human, education, veteran, active soldier, elderly, disease, Red Cross, natural disaster relief, and everything between.

If everyone did something, just one thing per person- it would seem a lot more like humanity and a lot less like all humans are selfish, negligent, and uncaring.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Livin' the Dream Challenge

If you know me, you know I am an avid follower of Project: Baby. I aspire to have as sweet a little family as they do (with such great style across the board!!). Plus, that babe Tinsley was just made for the camera, my gosh she's cute. Shout out to Kristen: if any combination of you, Tinsley, and Matt (and I'm suspecting/hoping possibly a little bun in the oven? Hopefully I'm right so I don't look like a dufus!) would ever like to get together for coffee/dinner/shopping, PLEASE let me know. I live right here in Charlotte and the Timmerman family are my group of friends' favorite local celebrities.
Back to my point. Kristen posted a blog several weeks ago about the "Livin' the Dream Challenge" via fellow blogger Martha Metzler (a new favorite blog, might I add) that I instantly became interested in. My New Year’s resolutions usually end around January 16 with my cabinets full of things I wasn’t supposed to be eating and complete disappointment in myself for not losing 20 lbs in 2 weeks (my body obviously hates me, right?). Well along comes Mrs. Martha with this fantastic, almost anti-New-Year’s-resolution resolution- to challenge yourself every week in a way that is empowering and beneficial to either yourself or others (or, the best part-both!). It’s super easy to follow along with; she creates these challenges for herself, then shares on her blog for others to join. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I have challenged myself to follow her through this year-long journey of "pay-it-forwards," self-insights, do-goods, and improvements.

Week 1 List 5 Things You don't Want to Change about Yourself
Week 2
Donate Something
Week 3
Buy One, Give One Free
Week 4
Do Something for your Neighbor
Week 5
Write Someone a Note (on actual paper)
Week 6
Create Something
Week 7 Write Down Something that you're Grateful for
Week 8
Send someone a Care Package


Now since it is March 9, I'm obviously a little behind on sharing what I've done each week, but I guess there's no time like the present to get caught up (besides, we are painfully slow at work- rain is not the most conducive weather conditions for roofing houses).

Week 1: I don't want to sound like a complete brat, but there are lots of things I wouldn't change about myself, so this was a walk in the park. The hardest thing about this challenge was figuring out how I wanted to word each of the things I used. I decided to do the first ten favorite things about myself that popped into my head:
1 I have a good heart. I love my friends and family wholeheartedly, am fiercely protective of them, and am willing to do absolutely anything for them despite whether it is reciprocated or not. Added bonus: they're all freakin' hysterical.
2 I have really soft hair, and I'm never really afraid to try something new with it.
3 I am very organized and have really great handwriting, spelling, and grammar.
4 I am very responsible for my age and appreciate things a lot more because I earn them.
5 I am stronger than I ever give myself credit for, and have the ability to handle things with grace if I make the effort.
6 I have no shame when it comes to showing my emotions.
7 I am both a realist and an optimist. I am a hopeless romantic and believe in the beauty of everything that comes with love.
8 I have a great palate and appreciate food, but I never get heartburn (knock on wood).
9 I research everything- random facts, news, comparative shopping, how to train a dog, scandals, government conspiracy theories, what portion of the country is on birth control, funny videos, googling/FaceBook stalking people, everything. I just love knowing as much as I can about as much as I can!
10 I'm a very good judge of character, am very empathetic, and can pick up on intuitions pretty well. A psychic told me this is why babies, children, and animals flock to me. I haven't won the lottery yet so I'm not a professional soothsayer or anything, but sometimes I do get "feelings" that turn out right. Plus, I've told my friends the sex of their babies before they find out from the doctor, to 100% accuracy so far might I add.

Week 2: Hallelujah for this week! I had been riding around with junk in my trunk for months (and by that, I mean trash bags of consignment/Plato's/Goodwill clothes, home goods, accessories, etc.). I kept saying that I would take everything to consignment and what they didn't want would go to Plato's and what neither of them took would go to Goodwill; but honestly, who has the time (or patience) to sit at Plato's for two hours for them to offer you $12 for 40 things? Not me. So the "donate something" task for the week forced me to do what I would have ended up doing anyways, and just donate it.

Week 3: BOGO ended up making my fellow office staff very happy, since the "O" I went with was lunch. I am well aware that they are not strangers, but it was a random act of kindness nonetheless, right? Don't worry, I have every intention of buying a stranger in line their coffee or magazine, or something of that nature at some point, I just haven't found the perfect time for that completely random act yet.
Week 4: I called the police when there was some sort of disturbance for my neighbors upstairs. There was talk of a knife, a gun, spitting in someone's face...so surely being the one who would call police had to help one of my neighbors, right? [I'd like this time to let it be known that I do not live in the projects, Compton, or Mexico City- just an apartment complex comprised mainly of college students.
Week 5: I wrote a little card to my parents, thanking them for only a fraction of the many things for which I owe them gratitude. And a card that said "You're crazy but I love you anyways" to my sister.
My mom cried. Gee, I wonder where I got that "no shame in showing my emotions" thing from...

Week 6: I created homemade dog treats, they were peanut butter and bacon flavored with shredded carrot. Not really a combination I would go crazy for, but my foster dog Casper seemed to really enjoy them (along with the rest of the awesome adopt-a-bulls from the American Pit Bull Foundation who came out for the adoption event at Northlake Mall in Charlotte--which is every Saturday from 12-4, if anyone is interested).

Week 7: I'm grateful that I get to hear my alarm when I wake up every day, and that I am able to see when I open my eyes. I'm thankful I can get myself out of bed, have full functionality of my limbs, can take myself to the bathroom and shower on my own. I'm grateful that I have a roof and clothes and food and a car. I'm grateful that I'm self-made and rely on no one. I'm grateful that I have a healthy, hilarious family and group of friends. I'm glad that my parents taught me to budget, clean properly, balance a checkbook, and fix things on a whim. I'm lucky that I have a job to go to (no matter how much I whine that I don't want to get out of bed and that work is stupid at 6:34 when my alarm goes off). I'm grateful that I have memories, from people who've passed and who are still with me. I'm especially thankful that I still have 3/4 of my grandparents. I'm thankful I'm healthy. I'm grateful that I can read and write, that I'm a good listener, and that I get along with pretty much anyone. I guess I can probably stop now since that's more than one...

Week 8: Care package time! I think I might have a little trans-continental something up my sleeve...

These Adorable Bear Cubs are Pumped that it's Friday



too.stinkin.cute.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Let me up on my Soapbox

Arizona has passed a bill, that is on its way to the House for vote, that allows doctors to withhold relevant medical information about a woman and her fetus for the purpose of eliminating the desire for an abortion. This includes women whose lives are potentially at risk, women who are carrying an ectopic pregnancy, and just plain women- women who have a say with their bodies, women who have a right to know what is happening to them, women who have the right to chose to live.

Women who chose not to take advantage of preventative measures at the risk of losing their own life expect that right to be given to them; why can't I expect the right to chose to live? At what point does the interest of a potential life overpower the interests of someone who is already living?

Conservatives are literally creating and passing bills that allow doctors to withhold accurate information about a woman's body/prenatal health based on their personal beliefs; and if that woman dies due to the doctor's biased negligence, they are protected by the government from being held accountable. Do they seriously still want us to believe there's no war on women? That may have worked in the 50's, but women are paying attention today.

If you're interested in filling your mind with a little extra knowledge today, read this article about what happens to college sex when you stop subsidizing birth control.