we're not the greatest.

"With a straight face, you're gonna tell students that America's so star-spangled awesome, that we're the only ones in the world who have freedom? Canada has freedom, Japan has freedom, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Australia, Belgium has freedom. So 207 sovereign states in the world, like a hundred and eighty of them have freedom. And yeah, you, sorority girl. Just in case you accidentally wander into a voting booth one day, there's some things you should know, and one of them is, there's absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we're the greatest country in the world. We're 7th in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, 3rd in median household income, number 4 in labor force, and number 4 in exports. We lead the world in only 3 categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real, and defense spending, where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined. 25 of whom are allies. Now, none of this is the fault of a 20 year old college student. But you, nonetheless, are without a doubt a member of the worst period generation period ever period. So when you ask, "what makes us the greatest country in the world?" I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Yosemite? 

We sure used to be. We stood up for what was right. We fought for moral reasons. We passed laws, struck down laws for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors. We put our money where our mouths were. And we never beat our chest. We built great big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases, and we cultivated the world's greatest artists and the world's greatest economy. We reached for the stars, acted like men. We aspired to intelligence, we didn't belittle it, it didn't make us feel inferior. We didn't identify ourselves by who we voted for in our last election. And we didn't... we didn't scare so easy. We were able to be all these things, and to do all these things, because we were informed. By great men, men who were revered. First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore. Enough?"

america, i absolutely positively am in love with you and am proud to be yours.
but this right here, this is how i feel this morning.

the lesser of two evils

to say that i throw 100% of my support behind either of these men would be a far cry from the truth. 

but i still voted. and so should you.

c'mon virginia.

a mother's love

"you have a blog?!?!?! oh my goodness, why does anyone care?!??!?!"

-eileen gallegos-lewis, 10/27/12

signature cocktails

one of the things at the top of our list was making sure to have an open bar. we drink, our friends drink, and contrary to popular belief, most of our family members drink as well. had we gotten married five years ago i would have thought, "ok open bar equals a heavy beer, a light beer, maybe a random white wine, and liquor." but now, in my old age, my taste in alcoholic beverages has changed. however it is quite different than my beloved's. i love chardonnay, he loves full flavored brews. he doesn't like liquor, i order gin and tonics with three limes like my two feet are still at highlawn and they cost $1.

like all things with our wedding, we want the choices of adult beverages to reflect us as a couple. so in order to satisfy each other and ourselves we are looking into offering a variety of beers and wines, but nixing the full selection of liquor. my parents were shocked when i told them this, and who knows if we will change our minds, but there is something that i absolutely love about having a "signature cocktail." i have been perusing the internet for a few weeks now, finding different ideas, and so far these two are my favorite:

apple cider sangria

whiskey punch

don't they look delicious??

if you have any ideas, leave a comment below! 

any and all suggestions are much appreciated. 

oh, sandy!

i hope your lights stay lit and your heads stay dry, friends! 

patrick, polly and i are thinking about you while we enjoy the first week of fall here in florida.