I get an email from DailyWorth a few times a week - it's a website about financial knowledge and strategies directed towards women. Sometimes the emails are strictly informative - how does a 401k work? - and sometimes they address specific situations women (especially working women) deal with. Most of it is pretty interesting and informative, and valuable for any adult.
This week, the topic was Ending the Superwoman Syndrome. And I know this is complicated - my roommates and I have discussed this at length, wondering where the idea came from, how much we've actually believed it and what choices we're going to make to not succumb to the myth that we can have it all.
So I was interested in what this woman had to say. Clearly, she did not find it fulfilling to be Superwoman, but how did she fix it? What were her thoughts on making choices? What ones did she make and why?
I read her article, and here's what I gleaned, based on the details of her life that she provided: she made her choices, and now she is a single parent with a successful business. She also has less stress and makes great money.
In the comments, I asked her what she was looking for, ultimately. Was it money? Less stress? I said it sounded like her business was more successful than her marriage, and wondered if maybe the focus has swung from one extreme - focusing solely on everyone else - to the other, focusing on only ourselves.
I got a couple of rebuttals in the comments - and I'll admit, I don't know the author's situation. But if she did choose her business, great money, less stress over working on her marriage or sacrificing for her son, I'm worried. And I want to know if we truly understand what we're choosing to have, and what we're choosing to give up.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Happy day
I had my first cup of coffee in nearly three weeks this morning. And it was so good. Truthfully, the detox we have been doing was not that bad. (Maybe I say that now because it's over? Who knows...) It was annoying not to be able to eat dinner when I wanted, and to have to make all of my own food. But I was rarely hungry, and I have not felt so good in many, many months. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to take themselves out of the maybe not-so-healthy routine of eating that we find ourselves in (ahem, Taco Bell - you know who you are), to listen to their bodies and think about where food comes from and why we eat it.
I thought a lot about my friend David, who is voluntarily going on a raw diet to combat the cancer wrapping itself around his brain, and writes about how he had to confront his emotional attachment to food, and find where his true source of comfort comes from. And I thought a lot about people who just don't have much food, and eat whatever they can get, whenever they can get it. It's pretty crazy when you think about the amount and types of food that we have at our fingertips - and how much we often throw away.
All that to say, I had french fries last night, and I baked a chocolate cake this morning for a birthday party tonight. And I will appreciate every bite.
Three more things:
1) The Livesay Blog - an amazing blog about service and faith from a Minnesota family doing work for Christ in Haiti. I started at the beginning, but their perspective about what's going on right now is powerful.
2) Valley of Vision: a gift from my friend Logan, also happens to be one of my boyfriend's favorites. It's an old book of Puritan prayers, and while it's a little King James sometimes, the prayers are beautiful, and convicting. Check it out.
3) My nephew who just learned to walk. Also lovingly referred to as "Frankenstein".
I thought a lot about my friend David, who is voluntarily going on a raw diet to combat the cancer wrapping itself around his brain, and writes about how he had to confront his emotional attachment to food, and find where his true source of comfort comes from. And I thought a lot about people who just don't have much food, and eat whatever they can get, whenever they can get it. It's pretty crazy when you think about the amount and types of food that we have at our fingertips - and how much we often throw away.
All that to say, I had french fries last night, and I baked a chocolate cake this morning for a birthday party tonight. And I will appreciate every bite.
Three more things:
1) The Livesay Blog - an amazing blog about service and faith from a Minnesota family doing work for Christ in Haiti. I started at the beginning, but their perspective about what's going on right now is powerful.
2) Valley of Vision: a gift from my friend Logan, also happens to be one of my boyfriend's favorites. It's an old book of Puritan prayers, and while it's a little King James sometimes, the prayers are beautiful, and convicting. Check it out.
3) My nephew who just learned to walk. Also lovingly referred to as "Frankenstein".
Saturday, January 16, 2010
deep breath
This has been a wild week. Erica (my roommate) and I started a detox/cleanse called "Clean" which requires a major change to our diet, schedule and time commitments. Today is Day 6 (out of 21), and I'm happy to say I'm feeling good, but it's not been easy. We are making everything we eat which, unfortunately, is so foreign to us. Smoothies for breakfast and dinner are good (but not as satisfying as solid food), and then lunch is usually chicken or fish with veggies and brown rice/quinoa.
The last day of the cleanse is Erica's birthday party (can't wait!) but it might be more of a cannonball than an ease back into real food. We'll see how it goes. But I do feel good - more alert and less tired during the day. And I might be losing a couple pounds, which I can't complain about. I'll give my full review and/or recommendation at the end of the month.
In other news:
This is my friend Sarah with her little friend Augustine in Haiti at Christmas. (I went with Sarah to Haiti a few years ago and wrote about it briefly here.)
Augustine lives at the orphanage where I volunteered, and was once very close to death. She's now a happy little girl, as you can see. :)
Obviously, you all know what happened there this week, and although I am shaken by it and scared, I trust that God is there and he will redeem it, even as he suffers with us. My friend John gave me a book this winter and shared one of his favorite lines: "Jesus gives God a face, and that face is streaked with tears."
Sarah has been frantically working to get information about the orphanage and the babies, and found out yesterday that only one baby died because his oxygen was cut off. All the Sisters and the rest of the babies were spared. Even the orphanage is still standing. Something to be thankful for in the midst of this sadness.
But this is especially difficult because I've seen the poverty and corruption of Haiti. It's frustrating to see a place where devastation is so long-standing and ingrained. How does one even begin to rebuild? They are starting from ground zero on nearly everything - political, social, economic, basic human rights infrastructures. It's daunting.
So, I ask for prayers. For the people of Haiti, those who are responding right now and those who will continue to help. And today, especially, for the children.
The last day of the cleanse is Erica's birthday party (can't wait!) but it might be more of a cannonball than an ease back into real food. We'll see how it goes. But I do feel good - more alert and less tired during the day. And I might be losing a couple pounds, which I can't complain about. I'll give my full review and/or recommendation at the end of the month.
In other news:
This is my friend Sarah with her little friend Augustine in Haiti at Christmas. (I went with Sarah to Haiti a few years ago and wrote about it briefly here.) Augustine lives at the orphanage where I volunteered, and was once very close to death. She's now a happy little girl, as you can see. :)
Obviously, you all know what happened there this week, and although I am shaken by it and scared, I trust that God is there and he will redeem it, even as he suffers with us. My friend John gave me a book this winter and shared one of his favorite lines: "Jesus gives God a face, and that face is streaked with tears."
Sarah has been frantically working to get information about the orphanage and the babies, and found out yesterday that only one baby died because his oxygen was cut off. All the Sisters and the rest of the babies were spared. Even the orphanage is still standing. Something to be thankful for in the midst of this sadness.
But this is especially difficult because I've seen the poverty and corruption of Haiti. It's frustrating to see a place where devastation is so long-standing and ingrained. How does one even begin to rebuild? They are starting from ground zero on nearly everything - political, social, economic, basic human rights infrastructures. It's daunting.
So, I ask for prayers. For the people of Haiti, those who are responding right now and those who will continue to help. And today, especially, for the children.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
this is actually going to be on mtv
I didn't think I would ever want to watch a show on MTV ever again. Then my friend David posted this on Twitter, and who knows, I might tune in:
The Buried Life
Happy 2010!
The Buried Life
Happy 2010!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
December 31
December 31: Resolution you wish you'd stuck with (You know, there's always next year...)
Spanish, Spanish, Spanish. Quiero hablar espanol!
I vowed to keep learning Spanish, and for a while, I was a loyal member of a group that met at the Lucky Lab in NW Portland. I took a class at PCC, went to Nicaragua in July, and went to a couple of Spanish dinners, but for the last few months, felt like I haven't practiced much at all. And I really want to be able to speak it, to at least understand people when they're talking to me.
Another goal for 2010. Obvio.
Spanish, Spanish, Spanish. Quiero hablar espanol!
I vowed to keep learning Spanish, and for a while, I was a loyal member of a group that met at the Lucky Lab in NW Portland. I took a class at PCC, went to Nicaragua in July, and went to a couple of Spanish dinners, but for the last few months, felt like I haven't practiced much at all. And I really want to be able to speak it, to at least understand people when they're talking to me.
Another goal for 2010. Obvio.
December 30
December 30: Ad What advertisement made you think this year?
I saw this via my friend Dan Klyn who tweeted about it. And it's from South Africa. Kinda cool.
Best Ad of 2009
I saw this via my friend Dan Klyn who tweeted about it. And it's from South Africa. Kinda cool.
Best Ad of 2009
December 29
December 29: Laugh What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?
I knew this immediately. I distinctly remember saying that I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time - like this was the can't breathe-I'm crying-I might pass out kind of laugh. Sigh, I loved this.
It was our friend (and my roommate) Molly's birthday and she insisted on not celebrating it - she was leaving for the Midwest the next day and she just wanted to go to the pub with our friends like a typical Wednesday night. So, naturally, we planned to kidnap her and take her to the Sapphire Hotel, a sweet little spot in SE Portland that makes some nice cocktails.
The plan was for a friendly kidnap, to throw her in the back of a car and maybe blindfold her, but as soon as we got talking about it, somehow I was asked to bring rope for her hands and feet, and, well, things changed a bit.
Molly made it to the pub alright, but we grabbed her as soon as she got her beer and dragged her outside. Then, on the curb, we tied her hands and her feet, and Joy had the great idea to throw a paper bag over her head (there may have been a belt). Yep. People were staring.
We popped the back of Joy's hatchback and first, had the brilliant idea of tipping Molly in face-first, but didn't realize until it was too late that her hands couldn't really support her when they were tied behind her, so she was basically laying on her face. I think this is when I was laughing the hardest.
Molly was a great sport - she laughed the whole time and didn't get mad at us for yelling at her to be quiet and lay down for the entire 20 minute drive. With a bag over her head. Thanks, Molls, for the best laugh of the year. Just wait until next year...
I knew this immediately. I distinctly remember saying that I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time - like this was the can't breathe-I'm crying-I might pass out kind of laugh. Sigh, I loved this.
It was our friend (and my roommate) Molly's birthday and she insisted on not celebrating it - she was leaving for the Midwest the next day and she just wanted to go to the pub with our friends like a typical Wednesday night. So, naturally, we planned to kidnap her and take her to the Sapphire Hotel, a sweet little spot in SE Portland that makes some nice cocktails.
The plan was for a friendly kidnap, to throw her in the back of a car and maybe blindfold her, but as soon as we got talking about it, somehow I was asked to bring rope for her hands and feet, and, well, things changed a bit.
Molly made it to the pub alright, but we grabbed her as soon as she got her beer and dragged her outside. Then, on the curb, we tied her hands and her feet, and Joy had the great idea to throw a paper bag over her head (there may have been a belt). Yep. People were staring.
We popped the back of Joy's hatchback and first, had the brilliant idea of tipping Molly in face-first, but didn't realize until it was too late that her hands couldn't really support her when they were tied behind her, so she was basically laying on her face. I think this is when I was laughing the hardest.
Molly was a great sport - she laughed the whole time and didn't get mad at us for yelling at her to be quiet and lay down for the entire 20 minute drive. With a bag over her head. Thanks, Molls, for the best laugh of the year. Just wait until next year...
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