a true pioneer

I saw that Del Martin had passed away yesterday. Her story and courageous life inspired me not only as a lesbian but as a person who wholeheartedly believes that you should always stand up for those being held down.

I am so very thankful for the advocacy work she did and so very happy that she could have her legally recognized wife of 55 years by her side in the end.

From NBC in San Francisco:

"Del Martin slipped away from us just moments ago but her spirit and legacy will never be extinguished within the LGBT community. Del and her loving, longtime partner, Phyllis Lyon, were harbingers for change and activism long before lesbian issues became au courant and socially acceptable. All people and movements in search of true liberation owe an immeasurable debt to Del Martin who, along with other early brave souls, was determined to speak out and change the world to better the plight and lives of those whose voices are not heard. "

enough is enough

Okay, so it is no secret that I support Hillary Clinton, that I voted for her in the primary or that I was praying up until that 3am text that Obama would choose her as his running mate. It is also not a secret that I had a hard time getting fired up about Obama.

I have a huge issue with loyalty. It can be my best and worst trait sometimes rolled into one. I wholeheartedly admit to the fact that I am not much of a "forget and forgive" kind of gal...when I believe in someone and support them, whether it be family, friend or politician, I do so forever. Or until they do something horrible enough for me to see they weren't really the person I thought them to be. But that is a whole different can of worms.

That being said, enough is enough. Hillary is out, she's not going to be on the ticket, top or bottom. Our hope now lies with Obama and Biden. Period.

I mean, I love her too but it is time to get on board here. These so called "Democrats for Hillary" and their threats to vote republican are almost more than I can handle.

This party needs us to unite for the greater good...our country needs us to unite. We need someone to begin the daunting task of backing us out of this seemingly bottomless hole that the Bush administration has put us in.

Obviously, that someone is not John McCain. It amazes me to no end that anyone in this country could look back 8 years ago and feel that things are better now. I just don't get it.

But what I don't get even more is people like this woman in the video who says she supports Hillary all while spewing bigotry as her reason for not supporting Obama. WTF? Can someone like this really share Hillary's views?

I have my fingers crossed that Hill does a bang up job at the convention tonight. I hope she gets through to these people and makes them understand what is really at stake here.

Well maybe not this women, she just needs to go back to her cave and stay out of the voting booth.

separated at birth

Bella Karolyi and the Talking Stain







I believe they are both talking about the important women gymnasts of Olympic past...but who the hell can really tell?

say what?

Just a few snippets from a night spent with two of the funniest people on earth...

An earlier conversation they had at lunch...
L: "I've got more common sense than you."
Ash: "No you don't!"
L: "Well I've got more street smarts."
Ash: "No way! I know how to get anywhere in Atlanta, even without a map."


As our dog, Gert, sniffs a sugar caddy from No Mas Cantina that mysteriously showed up in L's purse...

Ash: "Look at her she smells food on it."
L: "No she doesn't!! She smells burritos!"
Ash: "A burrito is food."
L: "Shut up!"


At dinner:
Ash: "I was the s*#t at the skating ring when I was young."
Me: "Oh yeah? You got a lot of ladies at the skating rink?"
Ash: "You say that too?"
Me: "What? Skating rink?"
Ash: "Yeah, why do you say rink?"
Me: "Because that is what it is called."

I'd love to share the really funny ones but I'd have to change my blog to "adult content".

They say to know some people is to love them. In this case to know them is to love them as well as to almost pee in your pants laughing every single time you're around them.

The good, the bad and the in-between

Friday's doctor visit went okay, not great and not horrible. No change in the osteoporosis but I did get cleared for wearing my tennis shoe. I can only wear it for 2 hours a day at first and get to gradually get myself back into it full time within a month.

Travel Well Center...

Good- The Wife did not pass out as they had her lie down while they held her feet in the air while they did the shots.

Bad- No funny stories

Almost Forgot...

Tomorrow is also "PGDLWPOA" Day (Please God Don't Let the Wife Pass Out Again).

The second round of our immunization shots are tomorrow. So say a prayer for her and the poor nurses at Emory Travel Well Clinic that she takes these standing up...and continues to stand up afterward as well.

Tomorrow is D Day

Okay, not so much "D" Day as it is more like "PGLMGTFBO" Day. Obviously this stands for Please God Let Me Get This Freakin' Boot Off.

I'm a bit nervous because my foot has been bothering me a little this week. Probably because after my 3 month hiatus I finally went back to the gym on Monday. I rode the bike and although I wasn't putting any real pressure on it I'm sure my foot was in a little shock to be moving so much. Along with the rest of my body.

Even though I will still wear the boot out in public, it thrills me more than you know to think I could actually reach this next step in healing and rehabing this ridiculous foot.



Not to mention it is not the most comfortable foot wear...so say a prayer for me tomorrow at 10am.

letter to the ioc

Dear IOC,
I heard this is the last year for baseball and softball in the summer Olympics. I don't care enough to research why it is you deem these sports un-Olympic but did have another suggestion for the chopping block - synchronized diving.

Don't get me wrong, the divers are amazing and are some of my favorite summer athletes to watch but seriously what is so sporty about two people doing the same dive at the same time? I don't see the gymnast doing "synchro vaults" or side by side on a balance beam.

I have spent 3 nights watching both the women's and men's events and although I don't consider myself an expert, I do feel you've got a bunch of bull on your hands.

I watched men land almost completely on their backs and receive a 9.5 on execution, seemingly just because they were the favorites to win. I watched women totally out of synch get higher scores than others because according to the announcer "they looked pretty".

If you don't feel you can get rid of the sport at least consider talking to NBC about their announcer who told viewers the reason the swimmers got in the showers after dives was to "have fun".

I'd also keep an eye out for a new Russian judge...maybe look for one that judges the actual divers and not how successful the communist party is in their country.

Thanks in advance for your prompt attention to these matters. I hope in 4 years I won't be forced to drive my wife crazy with my commentary, or what she likes to call my "complete lack of knowledge of the sport".

Tootles,
MAV

Another one bites the dust

Welcome Ms. JC to your 30's...my advise, try not to break anything.





We love you!

can anyone keep it in their pants these days?

I am beyond angry at the news of John Edwards' affair. I'm not angry because of the affair itself because, lets face it, the majority of married men and women have extra marital affairs. I'm not saying it doesn't disappoint me. I respected him and I do think it says a great deal to his lack of good and moral character, traits he assured everyone of during his campaign.

That said, it isn't my marriage and they have to deal with it as a family. In the end it comes down to the simple fact that we all make mistakes.

However, to have a scandalous affair, attempt to cover it up and then to consciously make the decision to run for Presidency anyway is not a mistake. It is an act of treason to the Democratic Party and a slap in the face to everyone who supported him. Should he have gotten the nod our hopes of returning to the White House would have been over.

Period.

I could go on and on about how incredibly incensed I am at this man for bringing on this negative light just weeks before the DNC Convention and what a coward I think he is for giving his statement during the opening night of the Olympics...

But, I guess there really is only one thing to say anyway...thank you Obama and Hillary for keeping this egomaniac in 3rd place.

you can't win them all

To preface, I love my Grandmother more than life. She was and is for all practical purposes my mother and I truly believe my soul mate. It really scares the me sometimes when I think about how much we are alike. Although I'm sure it scares the Wife even more.

Given that she turns 75 this year and was raised in rural north Georgia by poor Scotch-Irish dirt farmers she is incredibly progressive in her thinking.

She is completely supportive of me being a lesbian and finds great pleasure in showing off pictures from our wedding to all the old ladies at her beauty parlor. Which I think she does out of fierce pride and an even fiercer desire to see if anyone disagrees with her so she can argue with them. Which according to her she does quite often.

My grandma is a champion of gay rights in a town that needs one in the worst way. It brings me more joy than you can imagine to think of her raising hell with the other blue-hairs about gay marriage equality.

That being said she is still a 75 year old woman raised by poor Scotch-Irish farmers in rural north Georgia...and sometimes there is no escaping it.

On the phone the other day she begins spouting off letters to me, as she does every single time we talk, asking me how I would pronounce this word. Normally it is the name of her new prescription but this day it was her doctor.

Grams: "V-I-L-L-A-N-U-E-V-A"

Me: (after grabbing a pen) "Oh it's Villanueva, is your doctor Hispanic?"

Grams: "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" (said with total disgust)

Me: "Uh Grandma, I'm Hispanic"

Grams: "Well, I just mean he's not Mexican"

Me: "Well, he could be Mexican."

Grams: "No, no, no, he is too good looking."


I'm guessing my Grandmother won't be giving the ladies at Birdie's Beauty Parlor a lecture on immigration rights anytime soon.

this is "my space"

Last night Ang told me I had to go back on myspace before we leave. I actually re-registered just a couple weeks ago with the intention of getting back on there so I could direct people to the blog and have another way of keeping up with peeps while we're gone.

But once I got on there and started thinking about finding a template for the page, uploading backgrounds, adding music and quizzes and all the other crap that blankets "myspace" pages I just wanted to throw up. As I hadn't eaten anything that day I decided just to exit myspace.

I just can't do it again.

I did, however, join facebook today which seems way more my speed.

So when we leave you'll have one more option to have a cyber-relationship with us...just not through myspace.

31 days

August is, by far, my least favorite month. Each year when it rolls around I find myself desperately tired of summer and ready for fall. Cooler weather, college football, chili, pumpkins, cabin trips, leaves changing, the whole bit.

But like a slap in the face, I am reminded each time I venture outdoors that August is really the quintessential "Summer Month" and hotter than Hades. I spend these miserable 31 days dreaming of September and the beginning of my favorite time of year.

One of the promises I made myself when we got delayed to January was to not wish away this year. I swore to myself that I was going to do my best to really enjoy this last year in Atlanta. Even the craptastic month of August.

This August may end up not being that difficult anyway. Currently on the calendar we have 1 wedding, 5 birthdays including a big "30th" celebration, 1 totally awesome 80's wedding shower, another wedding shower, 1 bachelorette party and the first game of what we hope to be an amazing UGA football season.

I'm thinking September 1st is going to be here before we know it and when it is we'll only have 4 1/2 months before we leave, which is insane.