Monday, April 26, 2010

Stieg Larsson



My parents like to read books aloud to each other. It is one of the many charming qualities they have as a couple. Last night my mother called to tell me that they had just finished Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy:

  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
  • The Girl Who Played With Fire
  • The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest
My mother insists that my husband and I make these the next books we read. Apparently they are so spectacular that my mother had to visit foreign websites to order the last book in the trilogy because it's not available in the U.S.A. until May 25, 2010, and my mother is so interested in the author that she plans to read his bibliography (Edit: Doh, I mean biography) The Man Who Left Too Soon. I am passing along my mother's recommendation to the blog world, and I also plan to make these the next books I listen to on my iPhone.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Silly Boys

For seven of the past nine days I've attended a Bikram Yoga class, and I can already tell a significant difference in the way my body works. I feel better. I have more energy. I sleep deeper, and the pain in my wrist and hands, which was caused from sitting at my desk and typing all day, is gone. But this post isn't about the benefits I'm getting from my brand new yoga journey. This post is about my straight guy friends reaction to yoga...

When I tell my straight guy friends about how I'm starting yoga somehow the conversation always jumps immediately to "Do people fart in yoga?" or "Have you ever heard a girl fart in yoga?" or some other form of that question. I think it's funny how predictable straight guys can be at times. And they always seem to enjoy bathroom humor. You know what they say: "boys will be boys...."

Silly, silly boys.

Beyond Disturbing

Okay. So. I tried to watch Frontline's The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan but I only made it part of the way through the hour. It is beyond disturbing for me to think about this happening in our world today.

Here's a blurb about the episode:


"PBS's Frontline has posted their latest piece online, and it is both fascinating and horrifying. "The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan" exposes the horrific practice called Bacha Bazi, in which young Afghan boys are sold to warlords and powerful businessmen to be trained as dancers who perform for male audiences in women's clothing and are then used and traded for sex. The practice is sadly making a comeback in that country."


My head is still in shock that this is happening to children in 2010. I also don't understand how powerful men in Afghanistan with wives and children of their own could keep boys on the side. Doesn't this seem messed up on so many freakin' levels?!

I get angry when children and animals are abused. This makes me very sad for the poor boys who are put into this situation by their families.

However, this practice is in their culture, and how do you change culture as an outsider? Man, we won the DNA lottery when we were born in the U.S.A., because we have the greatest country in the world...and in our country this is illegal.

The Cove

I have always felt connected to dolphins. I don't know why, but my heart beams when I see dolphins in the sea or in captivity. It always has. It's a logical connection because they are highly evolved animals and we are highly evolved animals too.

I first learned about The Cove on the night it won the Academy Award for best documentary. It is a documentary film about the capture of and the killing of dolphins in Japan. My heart aches at the subject matter of this film. It just seems terrible that we are doing this to dolphins. Oprah's Earth Day show had a segment with the makers of this film and one of them said that dolphins are the only animal on record to single handed save a human life. It's our turn to save theirs.

I encourage you to be brave and watch this film, The Cove. Also, visit this website: www.SaveJapanDolphins.org to learn more.

Let's save the world together!

RIP Grass Snake

We are keeping our 4-legged niece this weekend. Cady is a Jack Russell Terrier and unlike our dogs she is a hunter. I was digging and planting in our flowerbeds yesterday morning, when the familiar gray grass snake slithered out of the dirt. The snake was young and only about a foot long. As soon as I saw it moving I knew what would happen. Cady saw it. She pounced in amazing speed and snatched the snake in her mouth and whipped her head until the snake broke into two pieces. She killed it in less than three seconds after seeing it. I saw the whole thing go down and it was so interesting to see Cady use her instinct to kill. It was also sad for the snake.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

WSJ House of the Day


I am seriously addicted to Wall Street Journal's House of the Day photo gallery tours. They take million dollar homes that are available to purchase and feature pictures and a discussion by the owners. It's interesting to peak into these spectacular homes.

This is one of my favorites, here.

And I like this one a lot too, here.

And here!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Fat and Thirty?!

I turn 30 this summer. I'm always happy to celebrate another year on this earth. It means I've spent more time with my husband and my family and my friends. I've seen more and experienced more and learned more after each year of life. I love having birthdays.

I just don't want to be fat and thirty. I'm carrying an extra 20 pounds of softness on my body right now. I want to firm it up. My goal is to attend as many Bikram yoga classes between now and my birthday as possible. My husband is an amazing yoga-man, and he's challenging me and encouraging me.

I need encouragement because I cannot touch my toes without bending my knees, and it's hard for me to quiet my mind in yoga too- I'm always thinking about other stuff! And, I feel like an obese uncoordinated goon at times during the 1.5 hour class that is in the heated studio. Yes, it's hot, and I don't like to be hot. However, I know that all the reasons why yoga is hard for me are the same reasons I need to go. I'm going. Right now...

Trigger's spot

Trigger does not like to sleep on the floor. Trigger does not like to sleep in his dog beds. Trigger does not like to sleep on the couch. Trigger likes to sleep on top of the back couch cushions. He likes to smash down the cushions and curl up into a ball. And it annoys me a little bit that he's wrecking the back cushions to our couch, but then he looks so darn cute...

Monday, April 19, 2010

Greene v. County of Sonoma et al.

When I read the below case docket I am reminded that we must continue to fight for marriage equality until the day we die; otherwise this could happen to us:

***************************************************

Clay and his partner of 20 years, Harold, lived in California. Clay and Harold made diligent efforts to protect their legal rights, and had their legal paperwork in place—wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives, all naming each other. Harold was 88 years old and in frail medical condition, but still living at home with Clay, 77, who was in good health.

One evening, Harold fell down the front steps of their home and was taken to the hospital. Based on their medical directives alone, Clay should have been consulted in Harold’s care from the first moment. Tragically, county and health care workers instead refused to allow Clay to see Harold in the hospital. The county then ultimately went one step further by isolating the couple from each other, placing the men in separate nursing homes.

Ignoring Clay’s significant role in Harold’s life, the county continued to treat Harold like he had no family and went to court seeking the power to make financial decisions on his behalf. Outrageously, the county represented to the judge that Clay was merely Harold’s “roommate.” The court denied their efforts, but did grant the county limited access to one of Harold’s bank accounts to pay for his care.

What happened next is even more chilling: without authority, without determining the value of Clay and Harold’s possessions accumulated over the course of their 20 years together or making any effort to determine which items belonged to whom, the county took everything Harold and Clay owned and auctioned off all of their belongings. Adding further insult to grave injury, the county removed Clay from his home and confined him to a nursing home against his will. The county workers then terminated Clay and Harold's lease and surrendered the home they had shared for many years to the landlord.

Three months after he was hospitalized, Harold died in the nursing home. Because of the county’s actions, Clay missed the final months he should have had with his partner of 20 years. Compounding this tragedy, Clay has literally nothing left of the home he had shared with Harold or the life he was living up until the day that Harold fell, because he has been unable to recover any of his property. The only memento Clay has is a photo album that Harold painstakingly put together for Clay during the last three months of his life.

With the help of a dedicated and persistent court-appointed attorney, Anne Dennis of Santa Rosa, Clay was finally released from the nursing home. Ms. Dennis, along with Stephen O'Neill and Margaret Flynn of Tarkington, O'Neill, Barrack & Chong, now represent Clay in a lawsuit against the county, the auction company, and the nursing home, with technical assistance from NCLR. A trial date has been set for July 16, 2010 in the Superior Court for the County of Sonoma.

(From NCLR website.)


Saturday, April 17, 2010

Logos



I have always been fascinated with company logos that look like really cool hand writing. I know these are most likely some creative person's designs; however, I like to think that originally there was a really cool person with really cool hand writing that wrote out these names...and someone turned it into a logo. I want to meet the people that can write like this. I want to write like this.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Tax Day

Tomorrow, April 15, is tax day in the United States of America, and the husband and I along with the rest of the homos in this country will be paying our income tax bill and making checks payable to our beloved country. We pay taxes to this country, but we don't have the freedom to marry in this country.

It shouldn't be this way.

We deserve equal rights.

My Irises are in bloom!


I love irises. They are the most under-appreciated flowering plant in our world. They are resilient; they can thrive without much tending from a gardener. They are beautiful; they have orchid-like flowers blooming once a year. They are lush; I love the long slim leaves in my garden year round.

The photo is an iris that grew from bulbs my husband's mother (a master gardener) shared with me last year. I love irises!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Refreshments

Friday night we were having dinner at Cousin Kate & Jason's house. Our other cousins David and Jason were having dinner their too. Kate was putting down Milo, their infant son, in his nursery and at the same time Jason had to leave the house to go pick up our meal. Jason asked Lucy, their 6 year old daughter, if she wanted to go with him, and when she declined he told her to entertain the guests. Lucy turned around and looked at the four men in her house. She ran to the kitchen and proclaimed that she was going to make us "refreshments." We all gathered around the kitchen island as Lucy pulled up her stool and began to make peanut butter and graham crackers for each of us. After we ate our refreshments she put on her ballerina outfit and danced for us. We were very well entertained guests. Lucy is the best.

Interesting Car



I thought this car was interesting. Notice the naked woman on the front wheels and the way the car covers the back wheels.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Great Austin Weekend

We had the best weekend in the city that holds our heart, Austin Texas!

Friday:

We were on the road southbound 35 by 5:30 AM headed to Austin; I had all day meetings at McCombs School of Business and my husband had client meetings. After our work we went to my husband's cousin's house for drinks, dinner and dessert. It was so much fun hanging out with Kate, Jason, Lucy, Milo, David and Jason. After dinner we toured our friends Scott and Amanda's new/old house off South Congress Ave. where we had more drinks in their beautiful home.

Saturday:

We met up with Naz and Andy for 10:30 AM Juan in a Million brunch. Juan's was packed but the "Don Juan" was our reward after fighting the crowd- it's always worth the fight. We then went to Four Hands wholesale furniture store to look at the collection of interesting furniture, and now I'm dreaming about one of their tables for our breakfast nook. Next, we went to Seton Medical Center to view our friend's photography on display in their hallways- very beautiful works. (And what a brilliant idea to turn hospital hallways into art galleries.) Then we returned to the hotel and put on some gym clothes and walked all the way around Lady Bird Lake. Saturday was a beautiful day, and being out and about in Austin together was heaven. We showered and then went to a cook-out at our friends' house. We hung out next to their pool and told stories until late night. We ended the night with a midnight feast of Magnolia's cafe.

Sunday:

We slept late at the hotel and then met Sherry, Ryan, and Coan at Hula Hut for lunch before we headed northbound 35 back to Dallas.

It was a great weekend, but the best part was that we appreciated it in real time, which is the best kind of fun. We were in Austin, enjoying Austin, and appreciating that we were in Austin enjoying Austin together.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

High Flying Husband

Here's a flavor of our life: This week we wake up and go to work. The interesting part is that I commute to the office in a nearby city, and my husband commutes to a far away city via American Airlines. In the evening we both reverse our commutes and return home. It's nice because we both end up in the same bed at night even though we're miles apart during the day.

The Soup

The husband and I love to watch E's The Soup. Add it to your DVR and you too can get caught up on all the week's trash television. I highly recommend The Soup because it's just fun! We like fun!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

KISS

In terms of solutions it is easier to create a complex solution, but it takes real talent to create a simple solution. In our word, it's easier to add more, but it takes the most skill to create a simplistic solution. I think we need more simple solutions among us. I've always heard that cliche that "less is more" but I don't think I really understood the genius of those words until recently. Let's all try to keep it simple!

Poodle Cupcake

My friend Stephanie made poodle cupcakes over the weekend, and she sent me a photo of the cute creations. Stephanie owns two standard poodles. Over the past two years I've started to appreciate the standard poodle. I really think black standard poodles are beautiful. One day I want to own one. I will name him Sirius.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Best Easter Basket Ever


Presley spent Easter at our house, and we had so much fun buying stuff for her Easter basket. This quiet possibly could be the best Easter basket ever.
  1. One Rainbow Brite Doll*
  2. One Dora the Explorer book
  3. Disney's Robin Hood DVD
  4. Boxes of goldfish
  5. Plastic eggs full of M&M's
  6. One box of Reese's Pieces
  7. Many Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
  8. Bubbles
  9. Snickers in the shape of eggs
  10. Other delicious chocolate treats
Doesn't that sound like a fun basket? I think one of the perks about having Presley, Paxten, and Owen in our life is that we get a chance to relive childhood through their eyes.



*Rainbow Brite doll circa 2010 is significantly skinnier than the Rainbow Brite doll circa 1989 that I might have owned as a little boy. Are skinny dolls more popular? Also note: Yes, it was intentional that gay uncles gave their niece a Rainbow Brite doll. Life in color is more fun!