Quote of the Day

Jen shows Eric a picture of her wedding dress and this is Eric's comment "oh that's nice it doesn't have a huge tail you have to drag around all day." HAHA a tail I am 100% sure he was talking about a train on a wedding dress. Gotta love boys.

A dress tail...so LOVELY!

xoxo
britt

NEEDED: Bridesmaid Dresses

Finding the perfect wedding dress was an experience. It was an experience that when I plunked down my 50% deposit on mine I vowed to never look at another wedding dress website again (no 2 dress bride here). But as wedding planning has progressed entering bridal salons and looking at bridal designers’ websites also enters the mix again. You see it is time to find the perfect bridesmaid dresses for the lovely women of our bridal party. So while we were in California over Halloween weekend I drug my two cousins to a bridal salon to checkout their bridesmaid dress selection. They tore through the racks and found about 10 dresses that they wanted to try on. As they came out and model each dress we were able to eliminate most of the dresses and than based on their favorites we left the bridal salon having found 1 dress that would be a great possibility.

Fast forward a week and this morning Jen and I went into one of the local bridal stores and we also pulled about 10 dresses from the racks (some for her wedding and some for my wedding). As we tried them on and tried to ward off the sale woman from coming in while we were still dressing we were able to find another for my wedding and 3 great possibilities for Jen’s wedding. Overall bridesmaid dress shopping has been a delight and I think within the next few weeks we will be making a major decision on which dresses we will wear for Jen’s wedding and by January we will have finalized the dresses for my wedding. Getting things done is really exciting especially when they are HUGE checks like bridesmaid dresses.

Winner Winner? No way!

xoxo
brit

Two Steps Forward, One step Back?

I am sick to my stomach today. I am disappointed in all those Californians, Floridians, Arkansans, and Arizonans who voted in favor of further marginalizing a specific group of people. This appears to be the only LEGAL form of discrimination that is still allowed in a country that has come so far and has even elected our first minority president.

It is my understanding that the United States Constitution and State Constitutions are put in place to protect and give rights to individuals not to contract the rights of certain groups. It makes me sad to see so much hatred toward one group of people who are being targeted by many conservative religious groups whom believe their views and their teachings are good for all.

One of the main reasons the original settlers came here from Britain was the desire for religious freedom. They wanted a separation of church and state. Over the past few years we have seen a major blurring of that line. This needs to stop. We need to protect the rights of all people who want to live in a country without religious pressures being forced upon their government and rights as a citizen.

Proposition 102 passed in Arizona. This defined marriage between one man and one woman. From what I understand this was already the case here in Arizona so why spend so much energy and money spewing so much hate and change the constitution for something that was already law?

Proposition 8 in California also passed. Why? Seriously, it isn’t like the divorce rate has spiked in your state since same sex marriages started and your heterosexual marriage has been 100% unaffected by the unions of the 18,000+ marriages that loving couples have entered into since they have been allowed.

All the voters who voted for such discriminatory propositions’ (in the 4 states mentioned above) disappointment me greatly. I am also greatly disappointed in the Mormon Church and their parishioners. The made up at least 47% or 14.5 million dollars in support of these props. (Source) SICK absolutely SICK. Don’t talk about being a kind, caring, inclusive, and all welcoming religion and than support such hate.

I do hope one day I will be able to live in a country that does not treat one group differently based on race, sex, sexual orientation, or physical ability. Last night with the overwhelming election of OUR (even those who voted for someone else) new President we took two steps forward, but with the passing of such discriminatory propositions in four states me took one step back.

So today I am excited about what the next 4 years have in store for our country and I am also hoping that one day all couples will know what it feels like to be planning for a marriage to the one they love and intend to spend the rest of their life with.

xoxox
britt

Just a little funny

For all those who are "Fiscal Conservatives"

xoxo
britt

We have an environment!

We now have a livable outside area. It is complete with BBQ area, seating area, and plants. I don't know if Lilly likes the new backyard or if she is just adjusting to seeing other living things out there. So without making you wait any longer I give you photos...

Welcome (Ok it's just the gate but you get the idea)...

First glimpse...

Get a closer look...

A look from the back door...

A view of the area for the table (notice how well the ugly AC units are hidden)...

BBQ area right off the back door...

Lilly gave her stamp of approval only after barking at the plants...

So consider this an open invite to come and hang out in our new and improved living space.

xoxo
britt

Ballot Initiatives...

Tomorrow is a big day. I am excited to see what happens tomorrow, especially with ballot initiatives.

Abortion – South Dakota (once again) is trying to pass an abortion ban. I am so sick and tired of hearing about abortion. I firmly believe BOTH political parties are wrong about the issue. It is not about being pro-life or pro-choice. I asked fellow classmates in law school if they really think abortion will ever go away. If Roe v. Wade was overturned, it would go to the states, and some states would still allow it. Do “pro-lifers” (who also support the death penalty completely drive me crazy) really think they can completely eliminate it? NO.

Abortion has always and will always exist. Get over it.

How about we reduce the number of unintended pregnancies by providing easier access to birth control? Do you know how hard it is to get birth control pills and how expensive it is without insurance?? With taxes and bigger government (better health care), we can provide better access to birth control and thus reduce unintended pregnancies.

How about we reduce the number of sexual assaults in this country? Do you know there are statistics as high as 1 out of 4 females face an attempted or actual sexual assault? That is embarrassing. I am read that a state politician in New Hampshire focused on reducing the number of rapes in her state and it worked! Fancy that. Instead of arguing about whether abortions should be legal or not, why don’t we talk about why there are so many rapes in our country? It is time to move on.

What about reducing the infant mortality rate? Or what about the government providing for the children once they are born? As the saying goes for “pro-lifers,” life ends at birth for these babies… How about better education system, better access to child day care for low-income mothers who are scared?

Point being – so many other issues to talk about than just whether abortion should be legal. President Bush has had 8 years and nothing. What a waste of a vote that was based solely on the issue of abortion. South Dakota and the rest of the country needs to get over it.

And another “controversial issue”…

Gay Marriage – Arizona (once again) has a measure on the ballot to make gay marriage illegal. Who cares if Tom marries Joe? "Straight people" have done enough to screw up marriage. Why do people go out of their way to be so hateful? It is not our job to be judgmental, that is up to our Maker. Arizona voted this initiative down two years ago. What a waste of money to bring it up again. When we pulled out of the church parking lot yesterday, we were acousted with pro-life signs and gay marriage signs. I just want to go to church and be left alone with that stuff.

There are many bigger issues to worry about this election than gay marriage or abortion. Our economy is terrible, we are facing two to three wars (sometimes President Bush brings up the “war on terror”), health care is terrible in this country, people are losing jobs, gang-related crime is on the increase since 9/11 because the FBI has been focused on terrorism…

I am tired of people focusing on distracting issues. Lets talk about the real issues.

- Jen

Equality for ALL

Copy this sentence into your blog if you're in a heterosexual marriage (soon enough), and you don't want it "protected" by people who think GLBT marriage hurts it somehow.

VoteNOon102

xoxo
britt