Who Does She Think She Is?

A documentary following 5 women who are artist, mothers and wives. The trailer is a must watch, it makes me giddy {it starts playing as part of the intro to the site}.

Here is the synopsis from the website:
"In a half-changed world, women often feel they need to choose: mother or working? Your children's will-being or your own? Who Does She Think She Is?, is a documentary by Academy Award winning filmmaker Pamela Tanner Boll, features five fierce women who refuse to choose. Through their lives, we explore some of the most problematic intersections of our time: othering and creativity, partnering and independence, economics and art. The film invites us to consider both ancient legacies of women worshipped as cultural muses and more modern times where most people can't even name a handful of female artists"

This actually speaks to one of my fears about being a mother, will i lose my self by having a baby? I'm glad to say that i am continually meeting woman that art artist and mothers and have not lost them selves at all.

The other question i've struggled with is, why do creative people have doubts about if they have the right to make art? Why would a person not have the right to make art? I definitely know there is a part of our world that does not understand a truly creative spirit, one that feels fulfilled by painting, dancing, singing etc. but those people do not hold all the power to dictate what is and is not "right".

Have you watched the trailer yet?

Cell Phone - love or hate it

I was at Sparkeltopia Monday and she had posted an interesting article by Ben Stein for The New York Times on his perspective of cellphones, titled Connected, Yes, but Hermetically Sealed. Go read it, it's very well written and offers an interesting point of view.

I don't totally agree with his point of view. Ben's perspective is that we're now ball and chained to cell phones and that we don't think anymore and wouldn't the world be better with out them. He blames the cell phone for causing too much connection {the business employee always reachable} and for lack of connection {kids walking down the street texting but not talking}. I believe the cell has gotten a bad wrap. The problem is more far reaching then blaming an electronic device. It's more that most Americans* have lost the ability to set healthy boundaries of personal space. An employee can set the rules down that they're not available after hours, the person who wants to do an activity undisturbed has the ability to shut the phone off, the kid that texts will still turn to the friend beside them to talk about what another friend said.

The cell phone is a tool, how are you using it?
*i say America because i only know this culture

Have a different opinion?

Success

This morning was the first successful carpooling trip for my husband and I. Sure, we've only done one leg of the trip but it was smooth. We even took the highways all the way into downtown with out traffic, how odd is that? It was about 7:20 by the time we hit the main freeway that is usually slow so it's not like it was super early. I'll stop commenting on it so maybe it will happen again tomorrow.

M. started his new job downtown and it's going to work out great. The hard part is getting into a morning routine. We both at 6:15 were grumbling about getting up. For me it was mostly the fact that it's not even September and it's already gray out at 6:15am - what happened to the sun? I'm not ready for shorter days yet. Don't miss the heat but i need my sun. I'm considering buying one of these lamps that simulates a sunrise and can play mp3 music to wake up to.

The trip was also really nice because we got to do a little talking and a little hand holding and it felt like a bit of the good life before walking into an office all day. I was afraid that i'd miss my alone commute to rock out to what i wanted and i probably will but not this morning. Plus i still got 15min by my self after i dropped him off.

Here's to good changes!

Sneaky Dream

Last night i went to bed at 9:30p because the night before i had missed out on sleep by going to bed at 1:00a. I love my sleep, i believe that 8 hours of sleep is the right amount but somedays it's ok to go over but under is bad and usually means foggy brain the next day.

I had all kinds of little dreams last night. In the one that was most clear, i was getting ready for work and running late. I knew i worked in a tall business office and something formal because i was actually putting on hose. I called the receptionist for the office to tell her i was running late. She asked "do you want to take it as a day off?" - i debated it, i was only going to be an hour late but if she was offering a day off i was going to take it. I replied "yes, i'll take the day off."

Then I wake up. I wake up to the very sad realization that i did not have the day off. I felt disappointed that it wasn't true and then annoyed that my brain had completely tricked me. I contemplated calling in sick but talked my self out. I sit here typing this in the single level building that houses the company i work for, grateful to be in my jeans and sneakers and not hose.

House

My husband and I are getting serious about making the commitment to buy a house next spring. This is very scary to me, the commitment, the what the hell will happen to us if one of us loses our job and we can't afford the mortgage? I know, I should be confident in God to take care of us but what if we in our stupid human brains run off and get a mortgage and that wasn't God's plan? You think there will be a warning sign like we can't get a loan or can't find a house?

A loan, there is a big hurdle. We're going in January* to talk to a lender and see if we even qualify. The good things we have going for us is that it's a buyer's market and we're first time home owners so there are all kinds of incentives going on {money (for down payment/closing costs), specific types of loans...}. *Jan because our rental agreement isn't up until March 31st and we're not breaking our agreement which is 1 month rent - we're not giving them any more money then we have to.

I figured this would be our starter home that we're in for 5 years maybe have 1 kid in and then hopefully be in a situation to upgrade homes. Last night i found out that my husband wants to find one we can live in for at least 10. I have never planned so far into the future, it's scary!

Then comes finding THE ONE - our requirements for us to live in a house for 10 years:

• 3 bedrooms
• 2 bathrooms
• at least 1400 sq ft.
• backyard big enough for 2 dogs
• affordable property tax
• good neighborhood (no ghetto)
• good schools (maybe, who knows, if we have kids they may go to private school but in case they don't... )
• closer into town (no 45 min. job commute - of course this is never guaranteed)
• as a bonus we'd love to have the bungalow style home.

Can we get all that for no more than 215,000? I guess we'll find out.

Breaking Dawn Review

Yes, yes, i got sucked into the Twilight book series. I'm not as enchanted with it as say Harry Potter. The first book was good but i was greatly disapointed in the plots of book 2 and 3. Book 4 is excellent in how she ties all the strings together and reveals more vampire history.

I wrote a review that does contain spoilers which is why i posted it to my archives. You can read here: Review I don't go into great details but you might find it interesting.

Getting Shorter

The days are getting shorter. This makes me bummed. I'm not really ready for fall yet. I've enjoyed our mild summer, only a few days of raging heat and the rest have been left pleasantly warm.

Last night i noticed at 8:30p that it was practically dark out, if not a little dusky.
This morning at 6:00a, when i actually woke up before my alarm, the sky was a dull gray not roaring sunny like it has been the past few months.

Hi Everybody!

I didn't intend to take such a long break from the blog but such is life. This past week i was in one tired, cranky with small breaks of sunshine mood. Plus a little busy with a few social events and a freelance gig.

Today i feel awesome! My husband got back into town last night after a week of being away. I had missed him but didn't realize what horrible sleep i was getting until last night. I slept great! A couple of odd dreams but i woke up this morning rested. I love my sleep people and apparently i get really good sleep when i know my man is home.

So, I still have photos to post of our anniversary get away. Also a funny video of the dogs.

Now, a quick story about Sunday. Me and a friend when to another friend's house. This house is sitting on a mountain and it's beautiful and relaxing to be there! Our plans were to get together and be creative but we only got an hour into it before we abandon the picnic table for the kitchen and more food. It was the BEST time! Homemade strawberry jelly and freezer jam on homemade biscuits is just good soul food.

One of the best items i was introduced to was a tea. Both friends are big into teas and i'm only really into ice tea and the occasional hot. Well.... i was convinced to try this black tea called Yorkshire Gold - it's amazing!! It has a full body and rich taste especially with a little bit of milk and a dash of sugar. On Monday morning i was craving it like my normal cup of morning coffee, it was that tasty! Apparently, it's considered an expensive tea but i figure if i just paid $12.95 for a pound seasonal type of coffee - i can afford $5.99 for a box of 40 tea bags. Disclaimer: I only googled the link to the online store, i have not ordered from them before. I'm told you can find the tea in most speciality tea shops.