The "American" Way

Those of you who know me, know that I shy away from speaking my views about politically sensitive issues because I am often unable to get my viewpoint across without appearing too emotional or weak. Perhaps it is time that I become someone with a louder voice, because today I am saddened at the swift and sudden change in our state.


An Alabama federal judge upheld many of the provisions in HB-56, the state bill on immigration that was modeled after the infamous Arizona immigration law. The Arizona law was later blocked by their state supreme court. In Alabama, the new law went into effect this week.

I was already opposed to many parts of the law, but the one that struck me as the most evasive was the provision about requiring schools to report the immigration status of their students to the state. The law is written in such a way that legally, there can be no action taken by the state based on this information. But, true to form, people were not waiting around to find out what would really happen:

AP - Hispanic Students vanish from Alabama schools

I am most saddened that America is becoming a culture of fear. Instead of looking for a solution to the immigration "problem" all people want to do is pass the buck. Hasn't history shown that education is a means to getting people out of poverty, increasing the skilled workforce, and ultimately creating better communities? I do not pretend to have an answer for how to solve the immigration issue. But I do think it is ironic that a nation of immigrants (except for those American Indians in my audience) is now turning its back on immigrants who would become U.S. citizens if they were only given the chance. They come here to work, to support their families, and to have a good life, just like so many people have done throughout our history. I have even poll numbers that say immigrants would be willing to pay taxes even if they weren't considered citizens. So why are we doing this? Like I said, it is all about fear. And as for immigration itself, I think most people are misinformed about what it does to our economy:




So I don't know what I am really trying to say, except that I am tired of my state leading the way in ignorance.

Another end of the month post - with pictures!

Once again, an entire month has about passed us by and I am feeling the need to collect my thoughts and share them with internet wasteland.

So August was the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. We finally moved into our new place and became settled for the first time since the storm. We have had our kitty, Penny, for a month now, and we are both incredibly attached to her already. Also, this past weekend, we threw a big fun party to say thanks to everyone for helping us out this year. It was a success, and really great to have everyone come and hang out. Thanks again, everybody!

Since I didn't get much sleep last night, and I should probably be working, the rest of this post will be all photos. Enjoy!

This is the new house! It's cute and I am planning on developing a green thumb and plant some flowers and bushes in the front yard.

This is the living room with our new couches. Our other furniture was way too big for the living room, so we lucked up on this set at The Attic furniture consignment in Tuscaloosa.

This is our deck. Jennings has a big new fancy grill, and I really like sitting at the table under the umbrella. It's hot outside!

Kitchen - it is not very big, but we have made it super functional by adding these open shelves and also these nifty things above the stove:

Next is the dining room. As you can see, Penny has made herself right at home. Oh to be a kitty and sleep all day. Sigh.


We also have a fireplace - how cool!

Next is the guest bedroom and the mater bedroom - forgive my sloppy job on making up our bed! At least the guest bed is nice?

Also, I don't really think people care, but here are the bathrooms:

So now that you've seen the house, consider this everyone;s virtual invitation to come visit. =)

July is almost over!

So apparently, I am only good at blogging once a month, toward the end of the month. Oh well!

So yes, July is almost over, and that means that Jennings and I are just inches away from moving into this cute little place:


It is actually only a block from where we are staying now, so I have been torturing myself by driving by it and wishing that there was a moving truck in the driveway. But, by next weekend, we can finally be settled! Ever since the tornado, having to move and stay in temporary places has really made me appreciate having my own space and being settled. Without that stability, I feel frazzled most of the time. I'm really ready to kick that feeling to the curb.

In other news, thanks to our friend Dominic, we are also adding a new addition to our family:


We think she is about 4 months old, and they've been calling her LuLu. I need to spend some more time with her before I decide if we're keeping that name or not. I've been bugging Jennings about getting a kitten for way too long now, so I'm sure he'll be glad to hear me shut up about that. Ha!

The end of July has also brought the end of my Summer Slimdown program, which is actually sad, because I had so much fun with the ladies in my group. There may be a chance to do some personal training with our trainer from the program, so I hope that works out. But I am happy to report the following:

• 5 pounds lost! yippee!

Before the program I did:

• 7.5 laps around the track in 12 minutes
• 30 push-ups in one minute
• 37 crunches in one minute

After the program I did:

• 8.25 laps around the track in 12 minutes
• 38 push ups in 1 minute
• 49 crunches in one minute

Also, I lost some inches on my waist, hips, and chest, and even got my BMI down by 2 points! So all of this tells me that even though the scale number is not that much different, I have made real changes on my overall fitness, and that is all a girl could ask for. I'm really looking forward to continuing down this track to see where I can go. Yay!

And, last but not least - there are only a few more days to take orders for houndstooth cookie baskets. My plan was to make enough baskets to donate $250 to the UA Acts of Kindness Fund, and I am only THREE BASKETS AWAY from that. So do yourself a favor, and go check it all out on the Etsy shop or on the Blue Bird Baskets blog. You can thank me later.

Happy Friday everyone!

June is almost over!

And where have I been, you may ask?

Still here, of course, but unfortunately consumed with other things. For starters, the A/C in my temporary house went out June 5, and it did not get fixed until TODAY. Yes that's right, a grand total of 18 days of no A/C in 90+ degree weather.

Needless to say, Jennings and I had to bounce from friend to friend's house over the last few weeks, and we event spent three nights in hotels. So life has been a little out of sorts, lately. I probably won't get back to my new "normal" until I get back from my beach trip next Wednesday, and maybe not even until that weekend after working tow days. Sigh.

All of that happened right as I started my grand plan to sell cookie baskets to raise funds for the tornado. I had about 7 orders right away, but it got increasingly harder to do them when I had to use someone else's kitchen. Also, I had someone say that the icing had melted in the process of shipping, so I have decided to refocus my efforts on getting the rest of my goal locally. The baskets are still listed on Etsy to ship, but order at your own risk with the heat we have been having!

Anyway, in other news, I have started UA's Summer Slimdown program. I go to a group exercise class twice a week and get to see a nutritionist every other week. So far, I have only met with the nutritionist once, and she told me a whole lot of things I already knew: I'm overweight, I should get my weight under control now because of my family's history of high blood pressure and diabetes, I need to exercise more and eat healthier foods. So our first session, I had a mini-meltdown. I would go into detail, but suffice to say that I just overwhelmed.

But now, a few weeks into the program, I am feeling better. I could not make class a few times due to work-related things, but I was still able to work out to make up for my classes missed. It has been really nice to have nice people supporting me too. One of the trainers even came to work out with me today since I missed, and let me borrow her watch so I could keep my times right. It's pretty rare that people will just willingly and unselfishly give like that. I have hope that the way they have encouraged me so far will help me keep on track.

As part of this process, I was encouraged to make a list of goals for myself. Not all related to a number - weight, clothing size, etc. - but more so things I'd like to do, or ways I'd like to see myself. I'm really taking that to heart and will be working on that this week.

And since I can't do anything without making it pretty or organized, I'm thinking I may splurge on something I have been eyeing on paper-source.com. It is a scrapbook/journal called a smash book. Here's a cute little video about them:




I think it is good for people like me who are constantly having ideas, but have no real way of organizing them. Also I am very visually oriented and like to make things look aesthetically pleasing. So as soon as these babies are back in stock, this girl is gonna get one. =)

Doing my small part to help

So I have finally figured out my niche in the recovery process. I decided to go with what I know, and what I know is baking and crafts.

I have decided to donate to the UA Acts of Kindness Fund, which was established to help UA employees and students who were affected by the tornado. I'm going to donate the proceeds from cookie baskets I am selling for a limited time on Etsy.

If you are interested in getting one, check out the Blue Bird Baskets blog for all the details.

Happy June everybody!

One month ago today...

a tornado hit my city.

I was planning to do a proper "one month later" post with some videos and photos, but instead work has been keeping me from taking any new photos or videos. But I did find this on Facebook this morning, and it really got to me. It was made by someone who took footage of the storm and set it to the music and themes from the 2009 Alabama Football "hype" video (the year of the National Championship). They do one every year to get people pumped before the games. Here it is:




There is another one that this guy, Sam Woodard, has done with more "recovery" footage. Here is a link to it (you have to be signed into Facebook to see it), but he may be taking it down soon because UA has requested to use it at the upcoming candlelight vigil:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=10150191034985213&comments


There is a part where the Auburn and Alabama colors come together with the words "United." I know people think we are crazy in our state for our football rivalry, but I think shows that when it really matters, we can come together.

Also, the "We're Coming Back" signs are all over my old neighborhood of Forest Lake, and that makes me really happy. I've talked to so many people about why they loved that neighborhood, and I couldn't agree more. We only lived there two years, but it actually felt like a neighborhood. I am sad to see how it has changed, but seeing these efforts and reading about the efforts of the city to be careful about rebuilding, makes me think that it will be even better soon.

Finally, I will leave you with this shot, from someone who posted it on the Forest Lake Neighborhood Facebook page:

Hangout Fest and life in general

So Jennings and I got back from Hangout Fest yesterday. It is only halfway through my workday and I am already mourning my incredible weekend.

Needless to say, the festival was awesome. Not only did we get to see a ton of great acts, but we got to do it all in gorgeous weather - ON THE BEACH. A computer in an office will never ever compare.

The whole weekend was relaxed - except the first night where Jennings lost his iphone (he eventually got it back) and we almost walked 6 miles back to the condo because the shuttle lines were too long - and it was really nice to not be in Tuscaloosa.

As hard as it was to live through the storm, to move out of our house, and try to start over, the hardest part of this whole thing is seeing it every day. When I'm on campus, it's easy to forget there ever was a tornado. The hedges are trimmed, there are no downed trees, and even the summer flowers are all neatly blooming in rows. But as soon as I make my commute home, I have to relive the devastation all over again.

I predicted that all of this would not really catch up with me until later, and true to form it hasn't really until now. It was not until I walked out of the darkness and into the light that I saw how much my city has suffered.

I have used the phrase "lucky" so much lately to describe how fortunate we are to have our lives, jobs, cars, and most of our possessions. But sometimes, all I can think about is how unfortunate it is to see this city still in shambles. I know it will take a while to come back, it may not even be "back" until Jennings and I move in a few years. But for right now, it is still a big mess.