My Mom's ENGAGED!!

My Mom just texted me to tell me she just got engaged last night!! Although Prop. 8 (same sex marriage) in California hasn't over turned she still proposed (and they plan to "marry each other" even if at the moment is isn't legal. She still loves her partner Shirley and they want to commit to each other in front of their loved ones.) So last night it was their anniversary. And my Mom made the sweetest scrapbook of no photos, instead it was all of the emails compiled that they had sent each other, all the love notes left behind, and my Mom even typed out every voicemail!! Shirley and all of her friends had an idea that my Mom would propose on their anniversary and I totally wanted it to come as a surprise so we decided to do it in a way that it seemed like the night was over and there was no way she'd get a proposal. AKA go to bed and that's it!! At 11:11 (usually AM because Shirley is always asleep at 11:11 pm) and at 5:55 (am and pm) Shirley always makes a wish. So last night at 11:11 my Mom woke up Shirley to say along the lines of, "Honey why don't you wake up and make a wish on 11:11 for our anniversary?" And then my Mom proposed!! Of course Shirley said yes, and to finish it off I believe my Mom gave Shirley the last little present.. The last page of the scrapbook which is the page that shows my Mom proposed!! I'm so happy for my Mom that she is happy. Glad she FINALLY found her life long partner. And YAY my Mom and I are engaged at the same time. Haha, how fun to plan our weddings together!! The wedding date will be 09.09.09!! (Our lucky number is 9 in our culture.)

CONGRATS TO THE NEWLY ENGAGED COUPLE!!


UPDATE: My Mom just cleared things up and said that she didn't give her the scrapbook gift yet because she is not done yet. But they will be exchanging gifts soon!! They are headed to Las Vegas tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving there!!

The Act of Giving!!

Happy one day before Thanksgiving everyone!! Here is an update on our donation for the troops. (Orignal post here and second update here.) A week ago I finally finish collecting and boxing everything up for the troops for the organizer Mary to pick it up. Here are the photos!!


These magazines and yummy snacks were given to us by my Mom's co-worker Anita M.


Tina on behalf of Dreamstar Parties donated a few more magazines, some chocolate, cereal bars, and organic vegetarian chili!!


A great package all the way from Hawaii from wonderful photographer Eddy Fong on behalf of Renai Photo sent in some yummy Hawaiian snacks!!


Newark's dentist Scott Nguyen and his staff from Sunnysmile Dental donated 29 magazines!!


On behalf of our household (Mom, Shirley, also Shirley's parents, and I) we donated a few more stationary items, loads of pens, and also some canned soup!!




The Hayward Library were so kind and allowed us to take as many books as we were able to carry!! Thanks to them for their very generous donation of 109 books. We chose the books from book sale. Please visit them for their great sidewalk book sales held often!!


Here are group shot photos of all the total goodies collected!!










When Mary came over with Baby Emily there was so much construction going on, it was going to be a pain in the butt to carry it all down the stairs while the construction workers were working on the stairs. We got so lucky, they saw us carrying some boxes and offered to help us. They carried all the boxes out of the house within literally minutes!! Those boxes were soooo heavy, them helping us saves us so much work!! Here is a photo of ALL of our hard work packed away in the van!! It's literally PACKED!!




Reading Material:
Magazines: 83
Books: 241
TOTAL: 324 Reading Material

Stationary Items:
Pens: 2 boxes
Markers: 1 box
Envelopes: 6 boxes
Stationary Paper: 11
Stationary Sets: 2
Memo Books: 2
TOTAL: 24 Stationary Items

Health/Beauty Items/Feminine Products:
Lip gloss/Chap stick: 6
Hair Ties: 2 sets
Shaving Creme: 2 bottles
Leg Shaving Razors: 2 boxes
Nail Care (mani and pedi full sets): 2 sets
Baby Wipes: 4 boxes
Bars of Soap: 7 bars
Candles: 5
Body Scrubs: 4
Shower Gels: 17
Lotions: 2
Deodorant: 6
Ointments: 5
TOTAL: 64 Health/Beauty Items/Feminine Products

Snacks/Foods:
Toffee Nuts: 3 packages
Sunflower Seeds: 8 packages
Pumpkin Seeds: 1 package
Sour Prunes: 2 packages
Popcorn: 3 boxes
Gum: 5 packets of 5 (25 total)
Cereal Bars: 5 boxes
Cream Cookie Pies: 2 boxes
Swiss Rolls: 2 boxes
Nutty Bars: 4 boxes
Powdered Donuts: 2 boxes
Hot Chocolate: 4 boxes
Tea: 4 boxes of 125 (500 total)
Roasted Peanuts: 4 cans
Assorted Candies: 4 bags/boxes
Hawaiian Snacks: 7
Canned Soup: 4
Chocolate: 1
Canned Chili: 1
Cheese Sandwich Crackers: 2 boxes
Chewy Granola Bars: 2 boxes
Animal Crackers: 1 box
TOTAL: 71 Snacks/Foods

Entertainment:
DVDs: 5
Games: 14
TOTAL: 19 Entertainment

GRAND TOTAL: 502 DONATED ITEMS!!



Wow the first batch of donations we had 293 items donated and I was amazed with that number and now with our second batch joining in the first batch we have a grand total of 502!! I'm just blown away!! Thank you so much everyone for all of your hard work!! I appreciate everyone and all the things you all donated!! I know this is will be a wonderful surprise for our troops!! I will keep you all updated when I get word when they get our goodies!! Thanks to each individual who donated!! It was very kind and generous of you!! Also if you have the time please visit at all the business that gave to our cause:

Dreamstar Parties
Renai Photo
Sunnysmile Dental
Hayward Library

Thank you everyone for sharing in this journey with me!! Love you all!! Happy Thanksgiving!!

New Secretary of State Appointed to Clinton!!

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Hillary Clinton to be the new secretary of state!! I like how this guy is thinking!!

Obama Appoints 7 New Gays!!

Obama has just appointed 7 openly gay people to his transition team. Whooo hoooo!!

Feedback.

Hey everyone!!

I'm in the midst of trying to find a new and cool layout, it's not done yet but for now I thought I'd let you all know about the cool feedback function we now have!! Below each post (above where you can comment) you can now leave your feedback on what you thought of the post. Let me know whether you thought the post was funny, interesting, or helpful!! It only takes a few second and will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks everyone!! Look forward to seeing your reactions!!

XOXO,
Missie

Move Sundance!!

"Proposition 8 eliminates the right of African-American couples to marry."

"Only marriage between non-Jews is valid or recognized in California."

"Proposition M: A ban on Mormon marriage in California."

Does any of that seem fair?? Did you know the Mormon Church in Utah gave over 20 million dollars to support Prop. H8te in California?? My question is why the heck do they even care?? It has nothing to do with their state?? They should have kept their money for issues they may face in their own state, and I already hate the fact that organizations like this can give money. Seperation of church and state people, come on!!

I'm frustrated that religious organizations continue to give money to political topics, so if you agree with me you can join in supporting to move the Sundance festival from Utah. Utah isn't known for much at all, honestly I couldn't point the state out for you on a map!! That's how little attention Utah gets, however they do hold the annual Sundance festival there where tons of famous celebrities go and tourist, AKA money!! Utah Mormans want to donate in a cause they believe in and take away rights that should be for everyone then I believe I can take away their chances at making loads of money the only time of year they ever get visitors.

From the movesundance.com website:

A cruel dichotomy is that the film industry, a business with countless hardworking gays and lesbians since its inception, and a huge supporter of gay rights, holds one of it’s biggest annual events, The Sundance Film Festival, every January in Utah - the “ground zero” of hate and homophobia in our society, and the home of a church that continues to debase the lives of gays and lesbians. Utah is the most religiously homogeneous state in the country, with approximately 58 - 62 percent of its inhabitants claiming membership in the Mormon Church and filling its coffers. The church wields enormous influence over its followers. While not everyone in Utah is Mormon, and there are countless fair-minded Mormons who disagree with the hateful and homophobic philosophy and policies of the LDS Church, the UNDENIABLE fact is that…MONEY SPENT IN UTAH IS INEVITABLY FUNNELED INTO COLLECTION PLATES OF THE MORMON CHURCH; WHICH IN TURN SPONSORS ACTIVITIES THAT ATTEMPT TO DENIGRATE THE LIVES OF GAYS AND LESBIANS, AND DENY THEM BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS.

Would the Mormon Church bring thousands of their followers to a convention in San Francisco?

IT IS NOW TIME FOR THE FILM COMMUNITY TO STOP FUNDING HATE AND BIGOTRY, AND MOVE THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL TO A STATE OTHER THAN UTAH!

Again for more information please go here.

Get Fat and Get Out of Jail Free Card.

Here is a very interesting read: A prisoner is set free because he's too fat to jail any longer!! To read the original article it can be found here for a fee, or for my lovely readers you can read it free below!!

Quebec Parole Board finds morbidly obese inmate suffering unduly, health deteriorating because of his imprisonment

INGRID PERITZ AND SIRI AGRELL
November 13, 2008

MONTREAL, TORONTO -- An obese inmate known as Big Mike is heading home early from a Montreal jail, as it appears that size does matter behind bars.

Michel Lapointe, who was imprisoned on drug-trafficking and conspiracy charges, walked out of Bordeaux Jail on Tuesday night after winning early parole - granted in part due to the health difficulties caused by his 400-plus-pound girth.

Normally, he would have had to go to a halfway house. But Mr. Lapointe was rejected by two such institutions because they said they couldn't accommodate someone his size.

So he got to go home.

'In the end, some might say he got off easy,' Mr. Lapointe's lawyer, Clemente Monterosso, said in an interview yesterday. 'But he didn't choose to be morbidly obese. This man is a colossus.'

The lawyer said the 37-year-old Mr. Lapointe suffered in jail because of his weight. His mattress was about a foot too narrow for his body, he couldn't squeeze his legs under the prison tables at mealtimes, and seating didn't provide support for his back.

'His health deteriorated in detention from lack of exercise, bad prison food and poor sleep,' Mr. Monterosso said. Mr. Lapointe was forced to take a lot of medication, he added.

Mr. Lapointe's weight had already come into play when he was sentenced in May. A judge reduced his prison term by six months because of the weight-related hardships endured during his 20 months of detention after his arrest.

In its decision this week, the Quebec Parole Board cited Mr. Lapointe's health - along with factors such as good behaviour, his non-violent crime and the support of his wife and mother - in justifying early release.

"You have been incarcerated for over 25 months and your prison conditions are difficult because of the state of your health," the commissioners wrote.

Mr. Lapointe has filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission."His rights were violated because he wasn't given the tools to rehabilitate himself," Mr. Monterosso said. "He deserved to be treated with dignity and humanity."

During his time in jail, Mr. Lapointe's weight increased to around 430 pounds from 300-plus when he was arrested. His lawyer blamed the weight gain on greasy food.

On Tuesday night, after his release from jail, Mr. Lapointe was photographed by a Montreal newspaper outside the prison gate, a cigarette in hand.

'Finally, I'll have a real bed and a chair to sit on,' he told Le Journal de Montréal.

Craig Jones, executive director of the John Howard Society of Canada, said Mr. Lapointe's case is the first he's heard of an inmate asking for special treatment because of his weight. But he expects it will not be the last.

Legislation governing incarceration in Canada requires prisons to adapt their facilities and practices to deal with inmates' individual needs, which can range in severity from allergies to mental illness and physical disabilities.

In many cases, Mr. Jones said, cells have been retrofitted so they can be occupied by prisoners in wheelchairs or with other specific health issues.

Mr. Jones also believes that Canadian correctional institutions should reconsider the diet imposed on inmates, one he said is heavy on carbohydrates.

'The diet is far from optimal, in my opinion,' Mr. Jones said. 'If I were a nutritionist and had the ear of Correctional Service Canada, I would be saying migrate them away from white bread and potatoes. But white bread and potatoes are cheap.'

In the United States, weight has already become an issue in the world of crime and punishment.

In May, a Long Island, N.Y., man accused of selling knockoff guitars was arraigned in a pickup truck in a parking lot because at 500 pounds, he was unable to walk into the courthouse.

In 2006, a death-row inmate in Spokane, Wash., died of liver disease 12 years after he was found to be too obese to hang. In 1994, a judge ruled that Mitchell Rupe, who had shot and killed two bank tellers during a robbery, could not be executed because his weight of 400 pounds meant that he might be decapitated."

OMG are these people crazy?? Should have made his punishment a diet!! What kind of message is this to our inmates?? Get fat and get out of fail free card!! Puh-leeze!!