Old Navy (sort of) supports LGBT pride

  Old Navy has a different sort of flag tee available this year, and it is causing quite a stir...

Old Navy is making a strong effort to support the LGBT community with their latest set of tees, with Pride designs for the whole family. The best part is that 10% of each sale goes to support the It Gets Better Project, which is a campaign that was started by Dan Savage after several gay teens committed suicide due to excessive bullying. They have such a strong message for LGBT youth, that there are others out there who have experienced the same thing, that the bullying does go away, and it does get better.

I was very excited when I found out about the tees. Although I am not gay, I was very much looking forward to purchasing one myself. I fully believe that every person on the planet deserves to find love, and that no one else should tell them where to find it. Would you tell a white person that they can't marry a black person? (doesn't it seem crazy that this only became legal in the US in 1967? Look at Heidi Klum and Seal, they're so sweet and happy together it's ridiculous). How about telling someone in their 60s that they can't marry someone in their 30s? (or watch Harold and Maude, that's 20s-ish and 79...big age gap there). So why tell a man that he can't marry a man, or tell a woman that she can't marry a woman? We don't choose who we love, it just happens.

Although Old Navy seems to be making a step in the right direction, it looks like they haven't fully committed to the cause. I hadn't even heard about them (even though I work at Old Navy) until my father-in-law mentioned something he saw on the news about the shirts. Unfortunately the tees will only be available in 26 stores nationwide, and will not be available online (which is completely stupid, those things would sell like hotcakes). In fact, you can't even find any "official" information on the campaign except through this Facebook page. It almost seems like Old Navy is trying to fly under the radar with this one, so as to not offend anyone and *gasp* potentially lose business.

There is something that can be done, however. A petition has been started (which I have already signed) to let Old Navy know that the nation wants to be able to purchase these shirts and support the LGBT community. Even if it doesn't get a million signatures, or Old Navy doesn't release the shirts to all the stores, hopefully they will still see the petition and realize that lots people care. Not just people in urban areas with large gay populations.

So listen up, Old Navy and Gap Inc., while the concept of the shirts is awesome, your strategy is flawed, so you need to kick it up a notch and release them to the whole United States! Stand up for what is right, and when you do it, make sure you stand all the way up, not just kind of half-stand then squat back down in your chair. Because is it really pride if you feel like you have to hide it?

SoWo 2011!!

Long story short... Southern Wörthersee is this super awesome Volkswagen/Audi show that takes over the tiny Bavarian replica town of Helen, Georgia, every May. This year was the 5th year of the show, and it was huge! They stopped counting at 1700 cars, and they estimated 3000 people in attendance. There were tons of vendors, including Volkswagen Group of America for the first year ever.

They made custom dog tags for everyone. Mine is already on my keychain :)

In case you can't tell already, the show is a huge deal. People come from other *countries* to go to the show. The guy who won for the farthest distance driven came from Mexico City, Mexico, logging over 1800 miles and 3 days of travel time just to get there (no way José!). Our 11.5 hour drive pales in comparison to that! We did get to test out the TDI Jetta Sportwagen's great fuel mileage though, we only had to stop once for gas, and still had a half a tank left when we made it to Georgia.

Speaking of Georgia...saw this in a gas station bathroom there. 

"Politically Incorrect Novelties."

 "Including the new Bin Laden condom." 

Anyways, on to the cars!

My favorite from the show. I don't know what it is about this one, but I am in love.

 

 This Harlequin had some pretty sweet color matched BBS wheels.

Yes, all four were a different color. 

 I found this air-cooled Beetle's airbrushing to be quite, um, interesting.

Underneath it said "The Way It Is."

Check out the difference between Shane's JSW (foreground) and one that is on air suspension. Crazy!

I have a ton more pictures, so you should definitely check out my video:

Oh, and if you're in the mood for a laugh, here's another video for you:

Blogger stats are fun!

My favorite part about blogging is the stats page. You can't see it, but I have a function that lets me know who is reading my blog. I don't know *exactly* who or anything, but I at least get to see which countries seem to be enjoying my endless rambling.

Here's an example...

This is approximately how many people, worldwide, have read my blog as of now, and where they're from. Pretty weird, huh?

I can also check out how people are finding my blog. Most everyone comes from my Facebook links, but there are a few Googlers out there. 

Now of course I had to check this out for myself. I don't know how most of these people found me, because I don't show up of the first page for the majority of these...with a few exceptions.

I feel like someone Googled this phrase to find out what it means. My blog pops up first! Considering that I'm not quite sure I used it correctly, I now feel like I caused someone to fail an important English class. Sorry :(

(and if I did use it right, well then, yay me)

Another first! While my blog made it to the top of the list, none of my actual pictures did.

And last but not least, my picture frames. Sure, they're way back on the 5th page of Google images, but there they are! Right under...oh...oh my...I get that the second one has "sorority" in the title, but what do you think got the first one up there?

Short attention + craft supplies...wait what was I talking about?

To say that I have a short attention span is an exaggeration. I don't know what my problem is, but nothing can hold my attention for long...unless it is something that really really interests me.

This can be a problem when you have a whole room sort of dedicated to crafting/hobbies. I have so many supplies, yet rarely get anything finished. I can actually get past the tough part, of a project, it's the little "finishing touches" that escape me...dooming a project to sit around unfinished forever.

Take for example, this purse I was making...

...still a pile of fabric. Although, to me, cutting out the pieces is the hardest part! I absolutely hate pinning the fabric to the pattern and trying to cut it out just right. 

Stuffed turtle (eventually)

I really just have to put all the pieces together and sew on some eyes and this little guy will be good to go! My sister has a stuffed rabbit at home that I made her, and that poor little rabbit is in about the same condition.

And I'm sure you remember my get rich (in a decently short period of time) scheme?

Sitting in a basket waiting to be photographed and listed on Etsy. 

I would say I finish about 1 of every 10 craft projects that I start. This time, it was a cross stitch. I don't know why or where the idea came from, it just got stuck in my head and I knew I just had to finish it. 

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No I don't know why I had the urge to make this either. I have stared at this for so long, I can't decide if I think it's awesomesauce or total garbage. And yes, I know the top row looks off-center. I swear that it's not (doesn't mean it doesn't bother me though lol).

You would think this total lack of focus for crafting would bother me. But you know what? I don't really mind. Sure, Shane might hate little bits of yarn and pieces of fabric all over the house, but I always remind myself, "it could be worse!" 

I could be making a dress that looks like this: 

Or snowglobes using god-knows-what!

Disclaimer: I realize that different types of people like different types of clothing. While I find that dress completely hideous, someone else obviously thinks it's gorgeous (or they wouldn't have made it!). Other things, like urine snowglobes, are completely unacceptable. And offering instructions to the masses to make said snowglobes, well that's strike 2.