Everyone should be able to wed

Yes, that is my opinion. Equality for all! Seriously, its about LOVE. I never heard of a marriage where they got together because someone was the right gender. pshhhh

• In the United States, there is no law or religious dictate that says the bride must take the groom’s last name. However, approximately 70% of Americans agree that a bride should change her last name.
• The Penan nomads who live on the island Borneo (southwest of the Philippines) maintain that women do not have a soul until their wedding day
•  Early Roman brides carried a bunch of herbs, such as garlic and rosemary, under their veils to symbolize fidelity and fertility and to ward off evil. These herbs served as a precursor to the modern bridal bouquet
• Because white is the color of mourning in Eastern cultures, white wedding dresses are uncommon
• Las Vegas is the top wedding destination with over 100,000 weddings a year, followed by Hawaii at 25,000 weddings a year.
• Wedding rings are often placed on the third finger of the left hand because ancient Egyptians believed the vein in that hand (which the Romans called the “vein of love”) ran directly to the heart
• The bride’s veil traditionally symbolized her youth and virginity
• Throwing rice at weddings symbolizes fertility, prosperity, and bounty
• Guests in ancient times would tear off part of the bride’s gown as tokens of good luck, leading to the tradition of the bride throwing both her garter and her bouquet
• The phrase “tying the knot” initially came from an ancient Babylonian custom in which threads from the clothes of both the bride and bridegroom were tied in a knot to symbolize the couple’s union
• A bride is traditionally carried over the threshold either to symbolize her reluctance to leave her father’s home
•  A morganatic marriage is a union of a person of royal blood with one of inferior rank
• To ensure fertility, the Irish would take a hen that was about to lay an egg and tie it to the wedding bed
• In Ethiopia, women from certain tribes place plates in their lower lip in order to entice a rich groom. The larger the protruding lip, the more a groom will pay
• Some scholars claim the word “honeymoon” comes from the Teutonic custom when newlyweds would hide out and drink hydromel (a fermented honey and water mixture) for 30 days until the moon waned
• The top 10 “First Dance” songs in the U.S. include “The Way You Look Tonight,” “Just the Way You Are,” “Come Away with Me,” Unforgettable,” “Wonderful Tonight,” “From This Moment On,” “This I Promise You,” “Thank You For Loving Me,” “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” and “All I Ask of You.”
• Queen Victoria’s wedding cake was three yards wide and weighed 300 pounds
• Queen Elizabeth II had 12 wedding cakes. The one she cut at her wedding was nine feet tall and weighed 500 pounds
• In the United States, June is the most popular month for weddings, followed by August.^h
• Nearly $72 billion is spent on weddings every year in the United States

I know You're Jealous You're not a Kansan

Everyone knows I'm from Kansas. I find it really hard not to meet someone new without getting the standard wizard of oz and dorothy jokes, not to mention "Have you seen a tornado?" So it is time to do some educating....

Kansas was the 34^th state in the USA; it became a state on January 29, 1861.

State Abbreviation - KS
State Capital - Topeka
Largest City - Wichita
Area - 82,282 square miles [Kansas is the 15th biggest state in the USA]
Name for Residents - Kansans
Major Industries - agriculture (wheat and other grains), aircraft manufacturing, automobile manufacturing
Origin of the Name Kansas - Kansas was named for Konza (also called Kansa or Kaw) Indians who lived in the area.
State Nickname - Sunflower State
State Motto - "Ad astra per aspera" - To the stars through difficulties
State Song - Home on the Range

State Bird - Western Medowlark

State Animal - Buffalo 

State Insect - The Honey Bee

Random Kansas Facts

• A ball of twine in Cawker City measures over 38' in circumference and weighs more than 16,750 pounds and is still growing. 
• A grain elevator in Hutchinson is 1/2 mile long and holds 46 million bushels in its 1,000 bins. 
• Kansas won the award for most beautiful license plate for the wheat plate design issued in 1981. 
• At one time it was against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie in Kansas.  <- absurd! 
• Cedar Crest is the name of the governor's mansion in Topeka, the state capital. 
• Fire Station No. 4 in Lawrence, originally a stone barn constructed in 1858, was a station site on the Underground Railroad.  
• In 1990 Kansas wheat farmers produced enough wheat to make 33 billion loaves of bread, or enough to provide each person on earth with 6 loaves. 
• The American Institute of Baking is located in Manhattan.  
• The rocks at Rock City are huge sandstone concretions. In an area about the size of two football fields, 200 rocks, some as large as houses, dot the landscape. There is no other place in the world where there are so many concretions of such giant size. 
• The world famous fast-food chain of Pizza Hut restaurants opened its first store in Wichita. 
• For more go to: http://www.50states.com/facts/kansas.htm

grapes

Grapes are one of my favorite fruits, they are definitely up there was strawberries, apples, pinnapple, and blackberries. My favorites are the ones that are really crisp and of course No Seeds!

• There are more than 60 species and 8000 varieties of grapes all over the world. Some common varieties of grapes are blue, black, green, red, golden, blue-black, white and purple.
• The main two types of grapes are European and American. They come in seedless and seeded varieties.
• American grapes are available in September and October, while European grapes are available round the year.
• The Thompson Seedless is the best selling grape in the USA. Golden raisins are prepared from these types of grapes.
• The production of grapes is more than 72 million tons all over the world. There are approximately 25 million acres of grapes throughout the world.
• It takes about 2½ pounds of grapes to produce a bottle of wine.
• Grapes consist of about 80% of water, which make them a low-calorie snack or dessert. Raisins or dried grapes consist of about 15% of water.
• Grapes contain flavonoids that give vibrant purple color to grapes, red wine and grape juice.
• One grape cluster has on an average 75 grapes.
• One grape vine can grow up to 50 feet long and can have about 40 clusters of grapes.
• Eating too many grapes can give a laxative effect.
• Fresh grapes can be stored in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days, when kept in a plastic bag or a covered container.
• Grapes are rich in vitamin C and vitamin K. They contain low levels of cholesterol, fat and sodium. Grapes are known for containing proteins, carbohydrates, dietary fibers, vitamins, minerals, calcium, iron, sodium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, riboflavin, thiamin, folic acid and amino acids. They contain high amounts of caffeic acid, which is a strong cancer-fighting substance. Grapes contain flavonoids, which are powerful antioxidants.  
• Grape juice replenishes iron content of the body and prevents fatigue.
• Grapes can be used to cure various health problems such as asthma, heart diseases, constipation, indigestion, migraine, kidney diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and fatigue. Grapes increase the levels of nitric acid in the blood and prevent the development of blood clots. It minimizes the risk of heart attacks. Grapes play an important role in curing dyspepsia. Grape juice replenishes iron content of the body and prevents fatigue. According to the latest study, purple-colored Concord grape juice is effective in preventing the breast cancer. Grapes also can prevent muscular degeneration and cataract, associated with aging. Grapes consist of a compound namely pterostilbene, which can reduce the levels of cholesterol. Grapes also have anticancer properties and antibacterial activity.

Its a marathon!

So this weekend the one and only, Rich is competing in a marathon and raising money for the Hemophilia Foundation. Please help him out and donate to this cause: http://www.crowdrise.com/RichPezzillo

• A marathon is 26.2 miles long, the length wasn't standardized until 1921
• Marathons are one of the original olympic events starting in 1896
• The name Marathon comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger
•  The winner of the first Olympic Marathon, on April 10, 1896 (a male-only race), was Spiridon "Spiros" Louis, a Greek water-carrier. He won at the Olympics in 2 hours 58 minutes and 50 seconds.
• The women's marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles, USA) and was won by Joan Benoit of the United States with a time of 2 hours 24 minutes and 52 seconds
• ollowing the 1908 Olympics, the first five amateur marathons in New York City were held on days that held special meanings to ethnic communities: Thanksgiving Day, the day after Christmas, New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, and Lincoln's Birthday
• By 2009, an estimated 467,000 runners completed a marathon within the United States
• In 2006, the editors of Runner's World selected a "World's Top 10 Marathons",^[40] in which the Amsterdam, Honolulu,Paris, Rotterdam, and Stockholm marathons were featured along with the five mentioned above. Other notable large marathons include United States Marine Corps Marathon, Los Angeles, and Rome. 
• Typically, the fastest times are set over relatively flat courses near sea level, during good weather conditions and with the assistance of pacesetters.

Men

Time	Athlete	Country	Date	Place
2h03:59	Haile Gebrselassie	Ethiopia	28 September 2008	Berlin
2h04:27	Duncan Kibet	Kenya	5 April 2009	Rotterdam
2h04:27	James Kwambai	Kenya	5 April 2009	Rotterdam
2h04:48	Patrick Makau	Kenya	11 April 2010	Rotterdam
2h04:55	Paul Tergat	Kenya	28 September 2003	Berlin
2h04:55	Geoffrey Mutai	Kenya	11 April 2010	Rotterdam
2h04:56	Sammy Korir	Kenya	28 September 2003	Berlin
2h04:57	Wilson Kipsang	Kenya	31 October 2010	Frankfurt
2h05:04	Abel Kirui	Kenya	5 April 2009	Rotterdam
2h05:10	Samuel Wanjiru	Kenya	26 April 2009	London

Women

Time	Athlete	Country	Date	Place
2h15:25	Paula Radcliffe	Great Britain	13 April 2003	London
2h18:47	Catherine Ndereba	Kenya	7 October 2001	Chicago
2h19:12	Mizuki Noguchi	Japan	25 September 2005	Berlin
2h19:19	Irina Mikitenko	Germany	28 September 2008	Berlin
2h19:36	Deena Kastor	United States	23 April 2006	London
2h19:39	Sun Yingjie	China	19 October 2003	Beijing
2h19:41	Yoko Shibui	Japan	26 September 2004	Berlin
2h19:46	Naoko Takahashi	Japan	30 September 2001	Berlin
2h19:51	Zhou Chunxiu	China	12 March 2006	Seoul
2h20:25	Liliya Shobukhova	Russia	10 October 2010	Chicago