Manic Monday

If I had the closet of my dreams, this is what I would be wearing today...

Gidget's Pup Essentials

Since it has been all about Gidget as of late...I thought I would share some of what Gidget thinks every modern pup must have.1. Puppia Harness

2. Zukes Mini Natural Treats

3. 4' Webbed Nylon Leash

4. Martha Stewart 3 piece bowl set - we love that it has a lid so BayLee won't eat dog food, he already has...WOOF!

5. Petco Loofa Dog Toy - ours has a dradle and is wearing a yamaka (which Gidget noshed on).

6. Rope Bone (AKA doggie floss, good for her teeth)

7. Biodegradable waste bags with holder that attaches to leash (genius).

8. RC Pets Packable raincoat

9. Kong

10. Petco SnoZZy Natural Cozy Crate Bed

11. Red Rolled Leather Collar

12. Good Quality Food

Manic Monday

If I had the closet of my dreams, this is what I would be wearing today...

Martin Luther King Day (repost from 2007)

Not sure how many people have actually listened to the entire "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr. I thought today would be a great day for people to read through it if you haven't ever read it, it is amazing, read it again.

I have a Dream.

Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

August 28, 1963

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Manic Monday

If I had the closet of my dreams, this is what I would be wearing today...

Manic Monday

If I had the closet of my dreams, this is what I would be wearing today...

Gidget's Weekend

We had a great weekend with little Gidget.

We went to Petco, Pet Smart and she waited in the car with Tim while I went into Target. We weighed her at Pet Smart and she weighs a whooping 7.2 pounds, a tiny little girl. We took her in the car both days this weekend and we also went to the little doggie park in my hood both Saturday and today. The park isn't fenced in, but is basically where the dogs go in my neighborhood to go potty and run a little. We wanted to see if she would run (on her leash of course) so I ran ahead and she and Tim came running behind, you should see her little legs go and her ears flap with every stride, it is hilarious and super cute. I couldn't get a video because I have to run in order to get her to run.

UPDATE - BayLee likes it when we leave the house and he gets his alone time. Gidget is getting more confident by the hour and she has started to bark at BayLee. We are correcting this behavior immediately though as she started to run at BayLee too when he enters the room we are in. BayLee is ok though, spends time in the bedroom alone and in his climber looking down on all of us. We all sleep together so he can't be too traumatized. Gidget gets spayed tomorrow so BayLee will get a day off and hopefully a little break while she heals.

New Member of the Family

Meet Gidget!
I have been looking for a little buddy and Wendy found her online at a local rescue yesterday while we were on our lunch break and the rest is history. For those of you who know me, you know I am an animal lover have always wanted a dog but was scared to ask my landlords. Well, I asked. Happy Happy!

For those of you who are wondering about BayLee, he is pretty mellow so far. Gidget and him touch noses, she is indifferent to him and watches him while he is busy walking the perimeter and showing her that he is the boss. So far, no swats, hissing or bad behavior. Believe it or not, we all slept in the same bed last night. I hope this is a glimpse into the future and they keep getting along.

Manic Monday

If I had the closet of my dreams, this is what I would be wearing today...

Vintage Yellow and Black by maltesekat featuring a colorblock dress

Happy New Year - Highs & Lows

Best wishes for a wonderful and prosperous 2012.

As I have done the past couple years, here is a list of my highs and lows of 2011 - non-exhaustive of course, a gals gotta have some secrets.

Highs:

:: Emily's Grad School Graduation in Chicago

:: A week on the Lake in Michigan with my family

:: Completed Hat Making Class and made some cool hats

:: Almost 3 weeks in Greece

:: Foo Fighters concert

:: Thanksgiving with Mom and Dad

:: Moved into a new office with windows

:: Got a great hair stylist (thanks Sara) and have seen her consistently

:: Emily's visit to San Francisco

:: Awesome Photography class

:: Royal Wedding Tea Party

:: Posted my 1000th blog post

Lows:

:: Tim still out of work

:: I was a bit too lazy

:: Realized I am not Super Woman

:: Jeep was broken into again, but nothing stolen.

Looks like the positives outweigh the negative. All in all, it was a good year, not the best, but better than last year for sure.

Oops I Did It Again

Had to make another one of these breakfast braids, after all, it was another holiday weekend and we needed something special for breakfast on Saturday. I have to admit, I didn't take as much care with the braiding this time and was a little quick since I put it together late Friday night and was tired.

This time I swapped the lemon curd for raspberry jam and it was incredible!

No joke, I had one slice, Tim ate the rest of it and LOVED it.