Positively Amazing

Sometime I would really like to find the time/opportunity to read/listen to The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. I've heard a review of this book and it sounds amazing. I would love to develop the skills to find the positive in literally every situation in life as Corrie's sister does. I'm pretty sure that somewhere in my past I heard a talk by someone about this very woman's life. Although, I don't remember much of the details, I do remember that it was awesome to me at that time too. I'm not sure that I realized that there was a book out there of her story. I'm a little sad I haven't read it years ago. Its hard for me to find time to read at this time in my life. I'll just have to get the audiobook from the library and listen to it at work. Although, I'm pretty sure it will cause some tearing. Its really hard to see to sew through tears. Been there, done that. Then the contacts sometimes get cloudy due to the salt after awhile. Have any of you read it? Comments?

Hilarious

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/8271035/a-day-in-the-life-of-the-educational-audiologist

Twitter

Twitter really is an odd concept. I'm not really sure I understand it. It just seems so random. I can't even really explain it. Its just madness!

Buffy!

Nursing a child takes time. Thanks to modern technology, I can sit in front of my iPad or computer and read books, watch TV shows, and surf the net. Because I have been spending piles of time just sitting, I have found myself a new obsession. Buffy. I never watched Buffy when it was at its hype, and truthfully, I probably would not have enjoyed it. I am not usually one for horror films, and certainly not into vampires of any kind (especially those that sparkle.) I had read several comments on a blog I frequent about how Buffy was a great role model, and how it was a feminist show. I also found out that I had a coworker, a man who is extremely intelligent and great at his job, who was a self-confessed Buffy fan. Finally, I found out that the creator, Joss Whedon, also created one of my favorites, Dr. Horrible. So I gave in. I have spent half of my FMLA becoming a Buffy fan. I confess that the first season was a little slow for me, and the special effects, although probably really cool when they first came out, seemed a little dated. However, being me, I did a little back research before giving up on the series. The first thing I discovered was Joss Whedon's whole inspiration behind Buffy. He apparently was raised by a very feminist mother, and always claimed himself to be a feminist as well. He decided that he wanted to turn the idea of the blond girl in every horror film who needs to be rescued around. Wouldn't it be great, instead, if the skinny little blond girl was the only one with the power and strength to save the world? When I read that, I figured I better continue to give this show a chance. Watching Buffy in that light, I found it much more entertaining and enlightening. I also found the writing and the dialogue extremely entertaining. Which apparently was the opinion of critics for the first four seasons. in fact, most critics stated that without the dialogue the show would not be a success. Joss Whedon then did something that truly makes me wish I could be his friend. He wanted to prove that the show was much more than just dialogue, so he created the episode "Hush". This episode was 43 minutes long, and there was only dialogue in 17 minutes of the show. You see, in the world of Buffy, there are not just vampires, but minions of demons with all sorts of powers. In "Hush" the demons had the ability to rob all the people in the town of their speaking voices. I was completely impressed with the fact that a show that had no dialogue for over half the show could be entertaining, but it was! Entertaining and creepy all put together. I was completely mesmerized. I think that "Hush" was what completely converted me to "team Buffy". Buffy addresses deep subjects, and does so in a way that allows a person to really think and question things whilst being entertained. It is also strongly feminist in its themes. Buffy is the strong one, and although there are others there to support her, in the end she has the power and capability to save the world. There are several other strong and capable women (such as my personal favorite, Willow, who really could have her own post) who teach young girls that they can be the saviors and superheroes. I really appreciate perhaps the more 'controversial' issues, such as choices regarding sexuality. In an interview I saw on youtube with Joss Whedon, he said that he intended to show that choosing to have sex is not a light decision for a girl, and a caution that in fact a young man could turn 'evil' afterward. And finally, seriously, who could not love a show that has a demon that can cause everyone to break into song?

Why the actual Baby is better than the pregnancy.

There is something about being human that makes people slightly obnoxious at times. When a person is expecting a child, people often feel they have the right, or perhaps even the obligation, to let people know that the hard times are yet to come. That you will not get any sleep. That your life will no longer be your own. That it just gets harder and harder. Well, maybe I am just insane, or maybe my pregnancies were harder than most, or maybe my girls are so cute that I forget that it is supposed to be all that hard, so I am here to write a list of why the actual baby is better than the hell that is the pregnancy before hand.
1. Even if you only get two hours of sleep with the baby, at least you can roll over with out pain.
2. When not pregnant, you can go longer than two hours without peeing.
3. Your fat pregnant belly does not smile at you.
4. When the baby feels heavy or your arms get tired you can hand the baby to someone else, or set the baby down. Not so possible with pregnant belly.
5. People may try and touch your baby, but at least they have stopped touching your stomach.
6. Fat rolls on babies are cute. Fat rolls on adults not so much.
7. During the last months of pregnancy people love to tell you how miserable you look. After the baby is born, people stop looking at you and only notice the baby.
8. Baby spit up/diapers are way better than self-vomit.
9. Babies are sweet and snuggly and like to hold your finger. Fetus's like to jump on your bladder and kick your rib cage.
10. "Oh no the baby is crying" is a great excuse to give telemarketers.
11. As much as I hated being pregnant, I actually wanted the child.

I really could go on. Point being it does not always get harder.

Wow. We are amazingly good at updating our blog. HA!

Hickory Dickory Doc

So, it would appear to be my blogging turn. Interesting weekend.

First, we discovered the BEST hot chocolate on the planet (Hatch Family Chocolates)! The same store also makes killer chocolates as the name would suggest. Our filipinos LOVED the chocolate covered ginger pieces made there.

Then, the real excitement began when we learned that an all out war had to be waged against the vermin that have come to call our house home. It was either the mice or the people & the people MUST win! Ejay & Arwin have been doing a great job of playing human mouse trap & we evicted a relatively large number of pests from the house yesterday. I'm a little worried to go home from work today as I'm not entirely sure what I will find. I'm hoping we're getting to the end of the mouse supply. When we've been advised to have a year supply of everything, I'm pretty sure mice weren't included.

Is my life really this boring?

So, a lot of people I know update their blogs everyday. At first I began to think "Wow, they have so much to say! My life must really be boring". Now I do not know if it is just that I am much more boring than my fellow bloggers, or if I do not have nearly as much to say, or if it is that more is not necessarily better.
All I know is that the wedding is over! I am glad they are happily married, and I am glad we do not have to plan anymore. Boring is good.

Things I do not like

I try hard to not go on feminist rampages, because people get easily offended, some people feel feminism equals satan, etc etc, but every once and awhile I stumble across something that I just can't wrap my head around such as:
http://www.uddercovers.com/
This is not a post about nursing in public or anything like that. Its the name. Udder covers? Really? I know someone thought they were cute and clever.
I am not a cow. Breast feeding my child does not equate me to a farm animal.
That's all.

Genius!

SWEET! Maren is going to love me for finding a "Magic 8 Ball" style question answerer from GLEE!

Elation

We're so excited for Ejay and Nanay to arrive in a couple of weeks. Also Ejay & I are, of course, getting married (see countdown). We're going to have TONS of FUN!!

THANK YOU! :)

We just wanted to say thanks to everyone that has been praying for the Philippines. The family there is all right, and Ejay's cat was even recovered as I understand it. We would love your continued prayers as the country continues to recover and the rainy/typhoon season isn't quite over yet.

I'm a Gleek

Its true. Anyone who has been around me lately knows that I am a huge fan of Fox's new show Glee, which starts tomorrow night at 8pm here in Utah, 9pm on the East Coast. This, I am sure, comes as a surprise to well... no one. Singing and dancing usually means Maren will love it.
But it is so much more than that. I know I am a nerd, but I am going to explain. I have spent most of my life feeling different and a little bit nerdy compared to just about everyone. While most of my friends were totally into New Kids on the Block, I was totally into Les Miserables and Phantom. Sure, I had my friends who loved musicals, but they were few, and just as nerdy as me.
The first time I ever fit in anywhere in my life was when I moved to NYC. You might think it was because I was around a bunch of theatre people, but that was far from the truth. There are plenty of people in NYC who have never even seen a broadway show. No, the reason I fit in was just this...in New York, everyone is different. It is so diverse, that it is expected to be diverse. You do not work in an offic e with people who have had very similar experiences to you, who went to the same colleges as you, and grew up in the same town as you (Or perhaps a different town, but really, how different can it be? Just how different, really is Layton from Kaysville?). When you live in a land of sameness (such as Utah) your differences really seem to stand out. However, when you live in a diverse area, your differences just seem to add to the fun.
So what am I trying to say with all this rambling, and what does it have to do with Glee? The thing I like most about this show, is the same reason I like Wicked, Hairspray, and many other musicals and other shows. At the end of Wicked, Elphaba is still Green. At the end of Hairspray, Tracy is still fat. And as far as I can tell, the kids in Glee will remain the misfits, the unpopular, the diva's, the popular kid who happens to like an unpopular activity, etc etc. And the most important point is this: us Geeks, us Gleeks, we do not want to change. We want to be different. We want to be unique. But we do want that to be okay . We don't want it to be expected that we act like the rest of you. We want to be us. We just want you to accept that. And we want fans. We want lots and lots of fans. So come on. Tell me how much you love me.

Care

Everyone should go visit Care's website, www.care.org. They are all about fighting poverty, and injustice especially for women. Awesome.

The Same or Different?

Someone recently told me that in reading through the posts on this blog he was unable to decipher which of us was the author unless he looked at the citation noting our illusive identity. This is not a new suggestion to me. In fact, Maren and I have been playing a sort of game in citing to each other the specific things we encounter in life for which we have differing opinions. To ourselves, we seem very different. For example, just this morning Maren & I were chatting about how she believes in sleeping & I do not. ;)

At the same time if I look closely at the person I've become, I can see little pieces of other people, most often those closest to me, that I've carefully integrated into the person of Rebecca. Some traits I tried desperately to adopt, for example using correct grammar and very large words. ;) I've also no doubt that I have many traits that I didn't consciously seek, but still found me. (I'm not sure if these traits are good or bad because I'm not sure what they are, but they have to be there. Right?)

So, I have to thank all you fantastic people who helped to create Rebecca. You've done an amazing job. ;)

History of Hawaii

Hawaii keeps coming up in my life lately. My parents are on vacation in Hawaii, I read a book about a Princess in Hawaii, ordered a Hawaiian pizza (LOL). Which made me wonder about the history of Hawaii. I don't ever remember learning in school about how it was Hawaii became a part of the United States. I remember learning it was first a territory, and that it became a state in 1959. From what I can read about it, it seems it was nothing but greed that made the Americans dethrone the Hawaiian Queen, and take over. Sometimes I think it is so hard to figure out what is truly history, what really happened, and the watered down versions we are supposed to believe. Does anyone know anything about the history of Hawaii? I would love to know more and understand more.
"Elphaba, where I come from, we believe all sorts of things that aren't true. We call it History." The Wizard in Wicked.

Pretty Sure This is Rambling

So, I received a funny e-mail depicting characterized personalities in Utah as Barbie dolls. It was a highly amusing e-mail. I was going to post it here for everyone's enjoyment, but it was incredibly slow going & the longer I worked at it the more convinced I became that some people would just be offended. So, in efforts to keep the peace & because I'm feeling a bit lazy (and need to clean my room) I've decided that if you'd like the e-mail let me know. I know I already owe it to 2 of you, but I'm not sure if I have correct e-mail addresses. I'll get it to you soon. No worries. In short, this highly pointless & boring post was brought to you by...me. Wow. I'll do better next time. (I hope.) I know. I'll post a fun picture with it! That will help make up for its lack of shine.



This is a picture of one side of a covered bridge that I saw in the Philippines. Many of the walls & fences in this town were painted to match this pattern. I really appreciated that these people who seemed to have so much less than I did at home had worked to make their town beautiful. How much I truly take for granted! If only I could learn to not simply make do with what I've been given, but to use what I've been given to improve the world around me. Sometimes I wonder which of us truly has been blessed with more.

Research Says

So, "research says" it takes 21 days to make a habit. You have heard it. Exercise for 21 days, eat well for 21 days, etc etc, and you are home free! Suddenly you embark on the new life that is yours having conquered whatever negative aspect of your life has plagued you.
Sadly, I looked it up, and there is no "research" that says anything of the sort. Apparently some doctor in the 1960's wrote it in his book, but it was based on his own observations, nothing more. People seemed to like the idea, as now there are hundreds of books and self-help programs based on 21 days.
The worst part of trying to develop a habit is that no matter how many wonderful "21 days" you exercise, eat fresh fruits or vegetables, avoid sugar, or any number of other worthy goals, inevitably there comes a day when you feel too tired to exercise, or the fruit has gone moldy, or someone in the office has brought in donuts and you just don't want to see them go to waste. And then each time you try and start over, it seems it is now twice as hard to go back to where you were.
So, what can a person do to stay motivated? Without the promise of 21 days to the new and better you, how can a person develop and keep a habit? More important, what can be done when a person "falls off the bandwagon"? When that day where you were too tired to exercise becomes a week, a month, or more?
Your turn: What do you do to stay motivated? How do you convince yourself to do the things you know you should, but frankly just don't want to?

Speaking of Hair in a Tropical Country...

I have naturally curly hair. In May I traveled to the Philippines for the first time. My hair was not my favorite feature there. I wore it up as much as possible to hide the frizziness & to gain relief from the intensely heated humidity. I should have read the a fore mentioned book as my hair in this state did not really give me confidence in my status as a gorgeous princess about to become engaged. So, I did what any not-thinking-very-clearly princess concerned for hair welfare might do. I had it chemically relaxed 2 days before leaving to return home.

It turned out beautifully straight. Even the ends which I'd never previously been able to straighten were straight. Now that I'm home it is fantastic! No more spending 30-45 minutes every time I wash my hair in blowing drying/straightening. The not thinking clearly part comes in when you're stuck in the chair at the salon for OVER 5 HOURS!! The entire time I spent thinking about all the other things I could have been doing, for example: not annoying everyone that had to wait for me, hanging with my incredible fiance, etc. Plus, sitting in a chair for 5 straight hours isn't very exciting. I think I looked through all the magazines that were within reach.

Now that I've been home for 2 months, I'm starting to miss some of the curliness. Although I still love that it doesn't take as long to make the mane look magnificent after it dries. So, what do I do? I start curling it. I spent a couple thousand pesos on straightening it, only to come home & curl it again! My soon-to-be family in the Philippines would probably be appalled. I get comments even if I just put it up from them because I spent so much money & should be enjoying the straightness that is now mine.

It just goes to show that the grass is indeed always greener on the other side of the fence. (Why is that?)

Brazil, with my Hair, Never!

When I was in High School, I volunteered at a crisis hotline. It was in a dark and creepy basement of a library. There was a back room full of old and dusty books. Myself and one of the other volunteers (you know who you are!) would often explore these books. One day, we found a book with a chapter titled "Brazil, with my Hair, Never!" This became our motto. Did we know what this meant? No of course not! It was just funny, and that is what we were, funny! (At least we thought we were funny.) We said it so much that people began to say "what do you mean? Why do you two always talk about Brazil?" It became rather ironic when one of us (not me) was assigned as a missionary to ... Brazil. Really, even with his hair.
What this post is really about, though, is not Brazil, nor hair, but in fact, the power of google. I began wondering last night if I would ever know the meaning of Brazil, with my hair, never, or if it would just be a phrase of un-usefulness forever. Well, my friends, I googled it this morning. This lovely chapter is from a book called "Book of Beauty, How to Become a more Attractive, Confident, and Sensual Woman." By Diane von Furstenburg. (Perhaps I should have read Ms. von Furstenburg's book. Then again, perhaps not.)
So there you have it, mystery solved. If one wants to learn to be confident, even with curly hair in a tropical climate, there is a book out there for you.