F is for Feminism; a Definition

Consider this the counterpart to “C is for Christianity; a Definition.”  Due to the obvious constraints of A2Z, I was not able to put them together.

Going back to our dear friend dictionary.com, I was very surprised to find that the actual term was not coined in the 1960’s like so many of us believe.  It was, in fact first used sometime between 1890 and 1895, around the start of the suffragettes movement.   The definitions are as follows;

1. the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.

2. ( sometimes initial capital letter ) an organized movement for the attainment of such rights for women.

3. feminine character.

Once again, the website knows how to do it right.  Those definitions are clear and concise, if they are anything at all.

I am in concurrence with the first definition.  In the job field, in education, or in regards to victims of crimes, women and men must be treated equal.

HOWEVER

One must consider the fact that we have equipment men do not.  We have the ability to truly procreate and give birth.  The world at large, specifically the contemporary first world, mistakenly views this as a liability.  True, if a female coworker does become pregnant, they do have to be concerned with the logistics of maternity leave.  Believe you me, I can sympathize with that since I have had jobs where tedious logistics bogged me down and prevented me from doing my actual job. 

HOWEVER

That does not excuse the way women have to fight and even de-genderize themselves (more on that later) to get any attention in the workforce and academia.  I do not agree with girls being told they cannot major in one thing or another because they lack the proper genitals.  I do not agree with the way women are treated like they are lower than men when we are in fact the superior of the species.

After all, we give birth.

E is for Evolution

            No, I am not going to use this as a forum to determine who is right about evolution.  I am not going to waste this opportunity to talk about which came first; the chicken, or the egg, or the dinosaur, or The Doctor.  That is not at all the kind of evolution that I am talking about the kind of evolution that fascinates me.  The kind of evolution that, given much better circumstances, I would be writing a master’s thesis about.  What I am going to talk about is the evolution of ideas. 

“Everything flows, nothing stands still.”  This quote by Heraclitus (yeah, I’ve never heard of him, either) appears to be the root of the saying, “the only constant is change,” and all the other variations thereof.  While we may apply it to the various stages of life, I think that this applies to ideas as well.

One only has to look at Christian history to see this.  As Christianity expanded to other lands, other interpretations began to be used as norms.  Christians split into Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism.  This continued with the formation of churches like Coptic and Marinates.  Then, in 1517, the monk Martin Luther, frustrated with the decadence lifestyles and corruption of Church officials, wrote The Ninety-Five Theses, originally meant as a criticism to shake up the pope at the time.  This further evolved the theology of Christianity.  

Even within a single faith, such as Roman Catholic, one can see we are ever evolving to meet an ever-changing world.  The Second Vatican Council is a big example, but the more recent re-structuring of some of the wording of the Mass is an even bigger example.

The idea of pro-feminism is also evolving.  As I have stated before, I think the idea is thousands of years old.  Exodus, the book in the Bible that tells us of Moses, also tells us of his sister, the prophetess Miriam, and his wife, the mystic Zipporah.  It is these women that Moses often turn to for consult.  Abrahamic tradition (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) continues the story of women who were on equal ground as the main male characters.

As the Feminist Revolution dawned, it’s seemingly anti-establishment attitude seemed to be a direct attack on mainstream Christianity.  About a decade later, Blessed Pope John Paul II (santo subito) greatly aided the further evolution of Catholic thought by writing about and fighting for women’s rights.  In “A Letter to Women,” he writes;

“Thank you, women who work! You are present and active in every area of life —social, economic, cultural, artistic and political. In this way you make an indispensable contribution to the growth of a culture which unites reason and feeling, to a model of life ever open to the sense of "mystery," to the establishment of economic and political structures ever more worthy of humanity.”

To end, I challenge you to reflect on your own ideas about Christianity and feminism and how you too can evolve.

D is for Distruction.

According to Wikipedia, Blessed Pope John Paul II (santo subito) coined the term, “culture of life” during World Youth Day in Colorado in 1993.  While its opposite, the term “culture of death” is not attributed to him, many of his writings contained references to those aspects of post-modern life that attack the “culture of life.”

Now, I would love to take the opportunity to analyze the 13 points that make up the “culture of life,” and how this is relevant to both contemporary Christianity and contemporary feminism, but that would result in a post so long, that neither of us would want to read it in the end.  If you want to read into all 13 points, be my guest.  Instead, I will do my best to paraphrase.

Human beings are creators.  I honestly believe this is an inescapable fact, something so deep in our DNA that we could not change it if we tried.  When God breathed life into us so that we became part of Him, that instinctual creative force that He gave us is what we mean when we say we are made in the likeness of our Creator. 

Women, unlike men, were not only given the instinct to create, but the equipment as well.  Our ability to not only create life, but to sustain it simultaneously with our own until it is to the point of self-sustaining (aka birth), makes us uniquely capable of nurturing the creative instinct.

Birth-control and abortion, and the recent movement toward “fertility rights” severely cheapen this ability.  It likens our ultimate creative ability to a nuisance, an ordinary bodily function. 

The other forces of the “culture of death” such as infidelity, murder, unjust war, are also destructive forces, and therefore, attempts to incapacitate our attempts at creation.

Now, it is something to ponder that in order to create, we must destroy.  However, when the destructiveness does not end in creativity, nor does it have the goal of creation in mind, we should be dead against it.  As thinking human beings, as Christians, as women, we should be dead-set against it.  Otherwise, we are mere cogs in the machine that churn out more life-ending destructiveness.

C is for Christianity; a Definition

            Perhaps before we go further into this journey, we ought to set some guidelines.  Namely, definitions of the two concepts that we are talking about.

According to dictionary.com, Christianity means, “The state of being a Christian.”  Well, then I looked up what the same site said was a Christian, and I have to say, the answer surprised me.  There were four separate definitions.

            1. of, pertaining to, or derived from Jesus Christ or His teachings: a Christian faith.

2. of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of   Jesus Christ: Spain is a Christian country.

3. of or pertaining to Christians: many Christian deaths in the Crusades.

4. exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike: She displayed true Christian charity.

5. decent; respectable: They gave him a good Christian burial.

Now I do have to give props to the dictionary.com people.  The first 4 definitions are broad enough that they pertain to ALL faiths that sit under the umbrella term Christian; Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Mormon, and the seemingly thousands of Protestant faiths.

The last definition, I must say, is my preferred one.

“decent, respectable.”

This goes along with what I always thought the definition of being a Christian is; someone who is decent and respectable.  We Christians have a wealth of a resource when it comes to how we define ourselves in the Bible, and those of us who are Roman Catholic have practically a library of scholarly writings by saints and popes, as well the Catechesis, what we believe is the end-all and be-all book of Roman Catholic laws (its online with its own search engine if you are ever interested).  I have not read all of these, but I hope to someday.  St. Catherine of Sienna’s (who was illiterate her entire life, btw) work on a women’s role in the Catholic church is suppose to be really passionate and relevant no matter what century you are living in, but I digress.

Personally, I like to look at the Gospel according to St. Matthew for a basic definition of Christianity.  It is all there; the Beatitudes, the Golden Rule, and my personal favorite,7:1-5.  That thought is what I will leave you with today:

1 Stop judging, that you may not be judged. 2 For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.  3 Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? 5 You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.

B is for Beautiful

Over the weekend, I saw a friend of a friend that I have not seen in some time.  In fact, I have not seen her since my birthday back in August.  Since then, she has become pregnant.  Her due date is in a few weeks.  Needless to say, she didn’t take me too seriously when, after we hugged, I touched her cheek and said, “How beautiful you are!” 

Exactly, what is beauty?  Now, I have thought long and hard about this.    I even posted the question on my Facebook wall.  However, it would appear to me that the cliché of “Beauty is in the beholder” is true.

To a Roman Catholic, perhaps the ultimate form of feminine beauty is the Virgin Mary herself. My personal favorite is the image of Mary as the Virgin of Guadalupe; an olive-skinned young girl, dressed in robes covered in stars, outshining the sun.  “Blessed are You among women,”  we pray, echoing the arch-angel Gabriel’s address to her when he asked her to bear Jesus.  Yes, as many of you may recall from your elementary religion class, he asked her.  She could have easily said no.  But she didn’t.

It would be my guestemation that if you were to ask your standard-issue post-1960’s feminist what is a beautiful women, she would say someone who was strong, or educated, or courageous.  They would perhaps even name some female iconoclast in a math or science field.  I would agree.  Someone who is strong and courageous enough to pursue their dreams, no matter what they are.  Someone who can rise above the criticism, even if the criticism is yet to come.  A beautiful women is someone who is walking down to the isle to receive their diploma, or sitting behind a teacher’s desk, or a ceo’s desk.  A beautiful women is a lawyer in her final trimester of pregnancy, gathering up the courage to begin a new way of life in Jacksonville, a way of life that I am willing to bet no class in law school prepared her for. 

A beautiful women is an engaged young women who was able to look into the face of an angel and say, “Yes.”

A is for the applecart that I am probably about to upset...

There has been an underdeveloped idea that has been stuck in my craw since undergrad.  Maybe before that, but I am not sure. 

I am sure, however, of the two ideas whose convergence created the new idea.

Idea #1:  I am truly in love with my faith.  At an early age, I fell head-over-heels in love with Jesus, and many had me pegged as a “Future Nun” before I was even out of elementary school.  The lives of saints inspired me.  Mary became my confidant and it was She who I would whisper secrets to that I was not comfortable even writing in my own diary about.  When I needed comfort during those nasty teenage years when parents just don’t understand and friends are a luxury, I often could be found sitting on my bed either praying the rosary or reading the Bible.  From Junior year of high school and even now when I take any FLDOE exam, I have a rosary either in my pocket or wrapped around my left hand.  In college, although I may have not made it to weekly Mass, I never wavered in my prayers and study of my faith.  Even when I was ridiculed by both classmates and professors in philosophy class for holding on to my “repressive” and “ignorant” belief system, I never faltered.  Even to this day, I am always trying to learn something new, or remember to pray every day.

Idea #2:  Women’s studies is equally inspiring and interesting.  I did not take the opportunity to take any women’s study course while in college, but I consider myself well self-educated on the subject.  Women’s roles, and the evolution there of is endlessly fascinating.  The way the “feminine ideal” has bend and stretched in the way that society needs them to is something I do not hesitate to geek out on. 

The convergence is this.

I consider myself a feminist.  No, I am not trying to be silly, or ironic, or sarcastic.  I really am a feminist.  I believe in women’s right to choose a profession, a life, a breakfast cereal.  Something even crazier, I believe that Christianity, specifically of the Roman Catholic varietal, and pro-feminism are not mutually exclusive concepts.  I do, however, think that the idea of feminism is centuries old even if the word is less than a century old.

So this is what I propose.

For the A to Z blog challenge, I will prove to you that there is a crossroads between Christianity and Feminism.  It will be a journey full of bumps and maybe even boring stretches, but it will be the journey that I will be on, and I invite you to it as well.

Just don’t forget a snack.  There won’t be many pit stops on this road trip.

So it has been some time since I posted, and believe you me, I have been kicking myself every time I have not gotten one out by Friday.  I feel that many things have happen since we last spoke, and I will try to get to it all.

My husband and I are taking full advantage of having HBO.  It was because of this that we watched the Gloria Steinem documentary.  We then proceeded to sleep in different rooms. Two completely unrelated events, but I know that the question will be asked.  Even though we both consider ourselves politically conservative, we both loved it.  The documentary allowed some great conversations to commence.  Despite my aforementioned political stance, Gloria has always been something of a hero of mine.  When I was in college, I was able to pursue the path I wanted with very little sexual prejudice (it was still there, however).  It also reaffirmed my stance on my own feminism.  But that, folks, is perhaps another rant for another day. 

Now a rant that I want to address now.

I turned 30 two weeks ago.  This has been something of a low point in my life.  First of all, I am shocked I made it this long.  I really am.  Secondly, is the list.  I am sure we have all made them.  Those little promises that we make to ourselves that things will fall into place one day.  For me, that was supposed to be my 30^th birthday.  It came and went, and my life has not improved.  When I was a teenager, I figured I would have traveled extensively throughout Europe by now.  I was supposed to be a New York Times bestselling author.  I should have been working on a second masters, or even a PhD by now.  I should have a nice condo and a record deal.  My teenage self would have probably offed herself had she seen me now; unemployed, broke, and overweight.

Everyone says to be more optimistic, and accentuate the positive and all that crap.  I tell you what, it is hard to right now.  However, for the sake of a more balanced post, I will answer in teenage self.

In the past 30 years, I have graduated college, twice (something that many informed me was impossible).   I married a wonderful man that not only puts up with me, but agreed to do so for all eternity.  4 months ago, I paid off all of my student AND credit card debt.  Twice, I have made it to South America.  I have also been to New York, Los Angeles, California, all the corners of Florida, Park City, Utah, Indiana, Georgia, Alabama, both Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia, and that is all the states I remember off the top off my head.  I have seen both US Disney parks.  I have performed in Carnegie Hall.  I have read the entire Harry Potter series and seen the movies.

Despite my current melancholy, I realize that this is just the tip of the iceberg.  I am working on my novel, live in a beautiful cottage where I have my own office.

O yeah, about that.

I am finished.

Wow! Another post!

This week marks my second month as a (house)wife.  While I have managed to have dinner on the table just about every night, and a well-made bed in the morning, I have had much difficulty getting much else done.  Mainly, my office.

This was a second bedroom of the house Husband and I are renting, and I immediately claimed it for mine.  So, it made sense that, as I was moving all of my stuff in, it got dumped into the “office”.  The only drawback was the fact that I did, eventually have to sort it all out.  Being that this is something for me that rarely involves making a home for the husband and myself, it got put on the back burner. 

I am pleased to say that that is not happening anymore.  After weekend warrior-ing it the past two months, I am pleased to say that our dining room, living room, kitchen, and bedroom are about as together as they will ever be.  That leaves the two bathrooms, and my office.

Now, this is something that I have been dreading.  Simply because I have minimal to zip organizational skills.  But I can do this, and I will persevere, and I will probably blog about the progress.  You know, to keep me on track. 

Some months ago, Ruth wanted to see and read more about my knitting.  I have done a substantial amount of that as well.  Since I have gotten married, I have completed:

A baby blanket

A hat to match my Gryffindor Scarf

And 1 Jaywalker

I am also turning 30 exactly one week from today, a fact that I am none too happy about.

Now, with pictures!

Again, I have not written in a while. I do have a good excuse for that. You see, right after I wrote my last post, I got a teaching job. Not a real one, mind you. A teacher at a school that I subbed at regularly offered me a medical leave position. In other words, while the usual teacher is on medical (in this case, maternity) leave, they hired me to fill in until the end of the school year.

It was nice to have a teaching job again.

It was not nice when people reminded me that it was temporary, and that I was “just a sub.” Which they did. With frequency.

I barely had time to turn in grades before people reminded me that it was 2 weeks before my own wedding. In those two weeks, if I was not moving, then I was sleeping. The stress I had is something that I would not trade with anyone.

I also would not trade my wedding day.

Like anyone’s wedding day, it was far from perfect. The florist managed to get my order wrong, and the guests were ready for the reception before the DJ was (my fault – not his). As I told myself when I first got the hint that the flowers were wrong, I could get caught up in the knit-picky details that didn’t really matter, or I could focus on the things that did.

Care to guess which I chose?

Then came the honeymoon. We went to Captiva Island. We did honeymoony things, went fishing, and ate some amazing Gulf seafood. Even though we moved from the Gulf Coast when I was a baby, I will forever maintain that it is in my blood, and that there is no finer quality seafood than what is found on the Gulf of Mexico.

And then, on the last day, we flew kites. That was my favorite.

Now, here I am, a housewife. Took a while to get my laptop set up. Actually, its taking longer than I thought to get settled.

But that is a story for another blog post.

More ranting

So I am trying my hand at something literary. No stories, no action. Just a girl, her computer, and her pain. So, there is not too much to it. I already have 500 words or so, so it is turning out to be something. I am only going to give it about 600 more before I finish it. My goal is to finish it before Spring Break.
Enough of that for now. What I would really like to bring your attention to is something I saw on 60 Minutes over the weekend. At first, I could not believe what my eyes and ears told me. 60 Minutes, a national news program, was doing a piece on the increase of homeless children. The part of our nation that they chose to highlight was Seminole County, Florida, where I have lived since I was 18 months old. This, along with the neighboring counties of Orange and Osceola, are becoming the fastest-growing in the nation in relation to this burgeoning demographic.
I’ll be the first to admit that I cried when I saw the looks on these children’s faces. My heart broke even further when I recognized some of the faces as children I have encountered. Once my heart broke, it was not pain, or even sympathy that oozed out like a yolk. It was anger and frustration. Anger because I had heard previously that the school board was cutting programs that were designed to help these children. Angry that, even though I am a part time nobody, I was not made aware that things were getting this dire. I was frustrated. I was frustrated that this was happening to my hometown. MY hometown. And as of right now, there is absolutely nothing I can do. I have just enough income to take care of my own expenses.

200 word rant

So, I have not written in a while. In fact, for the past, what, 3 years now, it has been downright sporadic. But still I press on. Why, you might ask? Why do you still press on, even though you know no one is reading this, and having a blog is no longer a free pass to the cool kids table? Well, folks, I don’t really see is as a choice. I am a Writer. That’s right, with a capital W. Some people are born to be doctors or lawyers or candlestick makers, and their paths are laid out in front of them as clear as crystal. Mine was to. But here is the difference between theirs and mine; doctors and lawyers have paths that are socially acceptable and profitable. Those of us who have to write or go insane (or both simultaneously), there is not a whole lot of profit to be had. And it is not all that socially acceptable, either. Think about it. When you ask someone what they do, what pops in your head when they say, “O, I am a writer.” Same thing you think when you realize the person you are talking to is an underemployed 29 year old who still lives with her parents.

Let's try this again

So, yeah I am back...hopefully for good. Rather than to suppliment the following post with the bad and the ugly, I'll do just a quick little update.

Like alot of other Americans, I am currently unemplyed. Yup, a teacher with a masters is currently unemployed. And I just turned 29. So I am 29, unemployed, and living at my parents house. Yeah, life is just...peachy.

Actually, life is peachy as of late. Having nearly everything material either taken away or locked away in storage has made me really more greatful for the things that no one take away. I have wonderful parents who let me back into their home after two nears being very happy empty nesters. My fiance has been my rock and my support and truly, my everything. I am more lucky that the average person to have him.

Also, I am taking this time to really, really examine my life. I loved my two years teaching, and I love the profession. But, until I am regired, I am looking at another source of revenue. I have been a writer since I could reach my Grandma's typewriter. I am sure those first "stories" were nonsense, but if childhood play is any indication of what you are suppose to be, then the signs don't get much clearer than that. I can only hope that you will come with me on the journey.

And now I am back....again.

If there is anyone still out there waiting for my next post, here it is. Although I am not one for excuses, I am going to take this opportunity to catch you up on the good, the bad, and the ugly things that have been dominating my life since September.

The Good

The first day of Christmas break, The Boyfriend took me on a daytrip to one of my most favorite spots in the world; St. Augustine. There, atop the Castillo de San Marcos, he informed that, as his princess, I "deserve a castle on a day like today." In the split second before he got down on one knee, I honestly thought he was talking about the weather. It would be goood of me to be able to retell the (I'm sure) prolific speech he gave as he was on that knee for what felt like two, maybe three hours before he slipped the ring on, but I was too busy listening to the sound of my heart beat in my ears and trying to remember to breathe so I wouldn't pass out or have a seizure or just plain die before I could say yes.

Since then, I have been able to recieve a generic marriage prep packet that we have been working our way through. The coolest part is that we decided to never be at home when we work on it. So we do things like go to Downtown Disney and windowshop.

I would like to go into detail abot self-planning the wedding, but it is kind of typical stuff that is actually quite boring. If you have a topic that you would like me to get to in the future, let me know.

The Bad and the Ugly will come as I try to make this blog-thing a regular Saturday morning activity.

See? I told you I was back!

Well fellow citezens, I survived the first few weeks back at work. The routine of the daily grind has me stumbling back into reality. Atleast my students feel the same.

Speaking of my students, let me brag to say I have a FANTASTIC homeroom. They are sweet and funny. Their creative energy and exuberence can be daunting, but for the most part, I gladly rise to the challenge.

Well, the last time we chatted, I was deep in the fandom of Twilight well, that is not the case anymore.I know I have said it 100 times before, but I have now found my poast-Harry Potter obsession. Steampunk. Looking back, I had been into it for a while, having read 2/3 of His Dark Materials and 12/13 of A Series of Unfortunate Events. This is a train I can get on. Or maube just a phase. Let's find out.

As you can se, I am still reading Jane Eyre. I am going to finish this book if it kills me.

Unitl next week

The Return of the Gryffin...

So, yeah. I know it has been 8 monthes since the last posting. If there is ANYONE who has been waiting with baited breath for my return, let me just say, I am back. Well, atleast I am back for now.

In the past year, I finally got my dream job, a teacher. As much as I love it and don't regret, it was tough. Everyone always says that the first year is tough, but they are never very thourgh beyond that. My first year wasn't SAT tough, eating something you dont like infront of the person who cooked it to prevent rudeness tough, or even grad school tough. This was Survivor tough - if the location of Survivor was the 9th ring of hell, and the challenge was you are expected to claw your way out onto actual land without dirtying up your clothes or messing up your manicure.

But somehow, like countless first year teachers before and after me, I survived. I had a great support system; My tough, loving, take-charge mother, my supportive, loving dad, and my super, fantastic Boyrfriend. I had to give up somethings this year, like the blog, and my waistline, but I am here now infront of you. and I am back.

So yeah...

I am, in fact, alive, folksies.

I have not faded, nor abanodned you, my faithfull readers (both of you).

I have just been to busy to blog. And when I say busy, downtime has become something more literal for me. As in when my head is down on my pillow time.

It is my new year's resolution to have no more excuses. Now, this is a loaded resolution, and it will be hard. But I think I can do it. But, true to my character, I have a back-up plan, which is to break-up this resolution into smaller bits, including (but not limiting to):
- Getting back into the blogsphere
- Getting my lazy butt running again.
- Reading 1 classic novel
- Learning to knit intarsia
- Knit one thing that scares me.
Catching up is something I will have to indulge in later. In the meantime, know that I have drank the red kool-aid, joined the herd, or whatevern other witty cliche belongs here. Yes, I am a fan of the Twilight series.

Now that I have a moment

I can catch you up and breath a minute. Holy cow, ya'lls. I know it has been a while, and I apologize whole heartedly. If you know me personally, you understnad why the super-long absense. If you dont, I have something to say to you; Grad School.

School
This has easliy been the hardest semester of my life. The classes were not the issue. After all, in one class we had to warch amazing movies and write one paper essays about them. (Speaking of that class, if a professor ever tells you that a final is so easy that you shouldnt have to study - dont listen.) Unfortutnately, it was the negativity that some spread like a plague infested fog that made it bad. I am very glad that I learned that, how ever late in the game it was. School is soooooo much easier when you don't try to socialize. This lead me to my decision to take two of my last three classes online.

Yes, you heard me right. I have three classes left. Beside internship. Looks like Ill be graduating soon. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Reading
Since I was a kid, I have always taken pride that I am not one for trends. Only dead fish go with the flow. I don't even listen to top 40 radio stations, and snicker at those who do.

HOWEVER.....

I think I have found my post-Potter obsession. It used to be His Dark Materials until I read a few things in the third book that made me say, "So THAT is why people are getting their panties in a wad about this."

So, like some rabid fangirl, I am joining the Twilight bandwagon. But I am not at it alone. Boyfriend has agreed to read it with me. Here is the thing though. For obvious reasons, I am choosing until after summer school to begin reading it. But I have it. Which means simply that the curiosity is rapidly eating a hole in the brainpan.



Oh, yeah. Still knitting sweater. And another pair of socks

Yeah, I am a fangirl...

I am quite busy right now, with all the scolastic stuff I have to do. I will, however leave you with this. I, myself am not a Browncoat,* but have been indoctrinated into the fandom, since 98% of my closest compadres are. I saw this and laughed very hard. Enjoy!



*Browncoat: a fan of the TV series Firefly and the subsequent movie Serenity

So, yeah.......

SO I have been a bad blogger, and I really dont deserve any cookies.
So much has happened that I am going to have to relay it in spirts.

First of all some CONGRATULATIONS are in order:

- To Mr. Franklin Habit. He got a book deal from Interweave Knits. Expect it to come out Fall of 08. Also expect me to be there when the local bookstore opens so I can snatch up a copy.

- To the fearless leader of one of the local knitting group that I belong to. As of a mere 20 minutes ago, she announced her engagement! Hop on over to her blog to wish her the very best.

- To Ms. Brenda Dayne. Her son got married last month. She made the adorable dress the bride is wearing.

- To J.K. Rowling. She made the top ten facinating person thingy that Barbara Walters did last week. Not only did she make #1, but she beat out Hugo Chavez, thus preventing me from having to throw things at the TV. Ahem.

- To Miss Lime from the Lime and Violet podcast and to my dear friend Veganclaw. They both have made it through that painful rite of passage known as the first semster of graduate school. Both, as far as I know, are unscathed from the experience, but I will keep you posted should facts arise that point to the contrary.

Part two, what I am knitting/reading shall be next.

The Long and short row of it

So ya'll? What is up?

Plenty here, let me tell you. After frogging and knitting and frogging and knitting no less than five times, the heel of my Walking in Sunshine socks is finally turned. The good news is, it earned me (I felt) ndouble frogging points on chorewars. And, after having many guage issues and frustrations, I frogged out 6 inches of my sweater, and cried the entire time.

In other knitting news, I have FINALLY 100% completed my house scarf. I have abandoned the sweater (for now)so that I can finish up the sock, and really get kicking on the super secret present.

School is ok. I am just glad that it is almost over.

And in other news, the weather is chaning. Many people bemaon this time of year, and I am not one of them. Despite growin up in Fla, I love cold weather sooooooooooooo much, and loath the hot. I am really hoping this gloriously chilly 70's degree (or so) (yes, when you are a native of Florida, anything below 84 is chilly) stays fora while.

In an effort to regain the active aspect of my life that was apparently so endearing, I have begun running long distance footraces. Yes, with no one chasing me. Yesterday was the Founder's Day 5K in Celebration, Fla. I was able to run a 43:50 without having to use my inhaler when it was al over and done with. Both feats are a first for me.

Finally, I am beginning to wonder if I myself had not been sorted too soon. I first became a "member" of the Harry Potter fandom (albiet a not -very -participating member)when I firts read Sorcer's Stone in Spring of '01. When the movie website came out, they had a sorting hat feature. I was sorted into Gryffindor, and, ever since, I have been a gryffindor fanantic, gluing cut-outs of the crest on my door when I lived in the dorms, but Gryffindor stickers on my knitting journals, sewing Gryffindor patches to my school bag, even making a Gryffindor Quidditch costume and knitting up a House scarf in the Scarlet and Gold. I even applied to a grad school that had Scarlett and Gold as their school colors, but, dont worry, that was not the reason. But, as you may note, a few monthes ago, I took a quizzila quiz qhere I was sorted into Ravenclaw. Exibit B is that, upon reflection, I do believe that "Wit beyond measure is Man's greatest treasure," and my favorite, all time, hands down character is Luna Lovegood. Finally, my exibit C is how I discovered, when I donned glasses, how I bear an uncanny (but perhaps more ethnic) resmeblance to a certain, well known Ravenclaw:





This was my costume this past Halloween. It is also interesting to note that more parents recongnized who I was than the kids did. I am now considereing this, not my Quidditch costuem (which gets very hot and itchy very quickly) to be the costume I take with me to Terminus.