Monday Listicles Make Me Proud

I made it through January and February.  I'm proud.  

Here's a list of 10 other things for which I feel pride and have nothing to do with winter in Ohio:

1. and 2.  My daughters, Sophia and Antonia (in no particular order) 

3.  Graduating, Magna Cum Laude, from college

4.  Working to end the cycle of abuse within my family 

5.  Being recognized by the Columbus Museum of Art for two Instagram photos

Sperk* on Instagram

6.  Mad SongPop skills

7.  My ability to dance

8.  Somewhat neglected as of late, Sperk* (especially Wednesday’sWoman)

9.  My ability to apply full make-up in five minutes

10. You

What Brings You Joy?

Yesterday was President’s Day.  Did you celebrate?  I did by taking the day off from blogging—not that I've been that great at providing daily posts.  But, hey, I need an excuse to do a Monday Listicle on a Tuesday. 

This week’s theme is a good one:  10 Tiny (or secret) Things That Bring You Joy.  Because I seem to dwell on the ho-humness of depression, this is definitely a topic I cannot pass up.  Joy is good.  And there should be more of it.

9 Tiny Things That Bring Me Joy

1.  My nightly talks with Sophia and Antonia as I tuck them into bed.

2.  Listening to Antonia practice her clarinet.

3.  Helping Sophia learn tap dancing for her upcoming school musical.

4.  Helping the girls with their hair.

5.  Hearing and sharing laughter in this house.

6.  When M does the dishes or paints the kitchen

7.  This video of Prince live circa 1985

Prince Lets Go Crazy / Purple Rain tour 1985 by Recoda321

8.  This video of my family at Christmastime circa 2010

9.  My dogs, Frodo, Scruffy and Tina

One Secret Thing That Brings Me Joy

Screenshot BravoTV

What brings you joy?

Time for Patience

Remember when you were little and the school year seemed to drag on for an eternity?  Forget the school year.  Each class seemed to last longer than summer break.

I remember staring at the giant, industrial, white-faced clock hanging on the classroom wall, watching the second hand slowly tick around its sphere.  Each time the second hand met the big hand, I felt relieved.  One minute down, 40 to go before the bell rang, signaling it was acceptable to move my body out of boredom, discomfort and anxiety.

As an adult, it's different.  Time flies.  Does anyone know why this phenomenon occurs?  One day seems to last a second, a year is like a day.  And now, January is almost at its end and I have yet to set any definitive goals for the year.

I know you are saying, “Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself.  It’s OK.  You can start, or change, any time.”

This is true.  However, as one who struggles with depression, when I give myself permission to stall, or get to it tomorrow, it means three days on the couch.  

Three days on the couch means the depression is fed with a powerful fuel that helps it continue for three more days.  Then I am left with nothing but a fried brain full of terrible self-talk and a sweaty bottom stuck to my jammie pants, jammie pants stuck to, you guessed it, the couch.

I do not remember the word I chose to focus on last year in order to focus on having a good year.  I think it was “fearlessness” or “courage”.  I think I exhibited some of both.  Each time I let bravery simmer to the top it was met by the outside world with enthusiasm, empathy and encouragement.  I was and am grateful for that.  But my inside-world, my self-talk, quickly drove any success into a massive car wreck.

Although the destruction did not go noticed by anyone, I saw it.  I saw it in the things I did not do.  Instead of taking advantage of the momentum of success, my focus fastened itself on the things yet to be accomplished.

 

I have experienced success.  I know I can do it.  That’s not the issue.

The issue is that I have no patience.  If it’s not done now I tell myself "I can’t" or "It’s not for me" or "It's something I do not deserve."

That’s all pretty harsh. 

No one deserves that kind of talk, so why inflict it upon myself?

Lately I have noticed my daughters who are 12 and 14 have very little kindness for themselves.  If their hair is not just right, they are ugly.  If their shirt hangs slightly different than they imaged, they are fat.  It’s frightening.  Although I never verbalize my negative self-talk, they must be picking up this technique of beating oneself up from me through motherhood osmosis.

Enough.

The awesome team at Just.Be.Enough has chosen three words to focus upon for 2013:  “. . . words to help us in setting goals, dreaming big, and being intentional about our journey to being enough.”

I am choosing one.

Patience.

Just.Be.Enough

I unofficially put my focus word into practice starting two days ago.  On that morning I had dishes done, the floors swept and mopped, and the living room dusted by 8:30 am.  I finished all of the girls’ laundry.  I got help moving the treadmill from the basement to the first floor so that we use it.  I showered, put on make-up and took the girls out shopping.  I even said “hello” to a friend I saw at the store, which is unusual.  Typically I hide.

At 8:00 pm I was contemplating scrubbing down the treadmill and hanging blinds in the room wherein we will be using it.  But I stopped.  I had done enough.  I didn't want to overdo it, waking up the next day with exhaustion which would be permission to go back to the couch.

Patience.

Everything takes time.  Everything has a process.  Change does not happen overnight.  Success isn't awarded in an instant.

I will be holding myself accountable for being patient by linking up monthly with Just.Be.Enough.

You just read month number one. 

Time flew, didn't it?

photo credit: BramstonePhotography via photopin cc

All These Things That I've Done

On Mondays, I typically participate in Monday Listicles, which I love.  However, today's theme of things found in your closet....my closet is a tiny hole in the wall.  I live in an old house.  There's not much in there of interest--mainly hanging shirts and a pile of shoes on the floor.  But, I'm still going to participate with a list, just one of a different topic.  I hope you'll forgive my bending of the rules.

Do you have a constant internal dialogue discussing all the things you need to do or should be doing? I do. And yet, there is so much that I have done.

Yesterday I came across an inspiring list created by Kerstin Auer honoring the things she has done. She was prompted by a blogging link-up by Andrea B  Now, I’m inspired.



In lieu of the closet, here's a few things I've done:

*Attended a presidential rally. Forward!

*Saw my favorite rock icons in concert: Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and U2.

*Traveled from coast to coast to over 25 Dave Matthews Band concerts.

*Met my significant other online—MySpace to be exact.

*Survived two C-sections and was rewarded with two beautiful daughters.

*Survived the terrible twos, twice.

*Put my foot down and said “no” to my daughters several times, surviving the excruciating pain of knowing they were disappointed.

*Watched my oldest daughter star in her middle school musical (oh, the nerves. She did so well).

*Listened in amazement to my younger daughter practice her clarinet. She’s so talented.

*Read many poems of praise written for me by my daughters.

*Tucked in my girls at bedtime most every night for 14 years. 

*Visited Las Vegas three times.

*Traveled to London, Paris, Nice, Florence, and Lucerne.

*Taken the 3 1/2 hour boat tour around Manhattan.

*Saw Bebe Neuwirth play Velma Kelly in the musical Chicago on Broadway.

*Had “the talk” with my daughters. We aren't done, it is ongoing.

*Was runner-up in Junior Miss Ohio in 1987, which allowed me to go to college with the scholarship awards.

*Graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Early Child Education in 2012.

*Have had many jobs: cocktail waitress, daycare worker, fitness center manager, pizza server, telemarketer, wardrobe consultant, retail merchandiser, and stay-at-home mom. My favorite has been stay-at-home mom.

*Confronted my perpetrators. I am a survivor of child sexual abuse.

*I've asked for help.

*I've received help.

*Gained and lost 60 pounds.

*Danced with a professional dance company.

*Danced in my living room.

*Gained and lost ten pounds.

*Recovered from an eating disorder.

*Had two photos selected by the Columbus Museum of Art to be included in their Photo Hunt installations.

*Was honored as a BlogHer 2012 Voice of the Year.

*I've been a wife and an ex-wife.

*Lived in Chicago, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Louisiana, Northern California, and now Columbus, Ohio.

*I've done punk rock karaoke.

*I've been to Bonnaroo, twice. And I want to go back!

I leave you with one of my favorite songs, so apropos:

  photo credit: the camera is a toy. via photopin cc

If My Daughter Had Time

Within one year, she quickly moved from a budding fashionista to a promising musical theatre performer.  Now she just wants time to turn the music she loves into movie soundtracks.  Becoming a D.J. also interests her.  However, high school academics are demanding.  After hours spent at school she has hours of homework.  Just the other night she said, "Mom, I just want time to curate my music, learn how to edit and mix music, finish reading The Catcher in the Rye, write a screenplay, and play with my hamster.  But I never have time with all this homework!" I have been lobbying to homeschool her, but she gives much resistance.  I know that if I could provide her education at home, she'd have time for the things that interest her. Her interests would be incorporated into the curriculum.   Maybe someday soon I'll figure out that I am the mom and her education is ultimately my decision.  I am conflicted because I also want her to be happy.  I fear she'll resent my demand for her to be homeschooled.   In the meantime, I'll capture the moments (pictured below) wherein she is experiencing joy, free from the academic pressures of traditional education.  These moments are extraordinary, maybe not to her, but to me they quietly scream she is an amazing woman in the making.

Sophia, age 14, enjoying her music.

Linking up with ladies holiday Photo Friday photo (top) credit: Myxi via photopin cc

Best of 2012 According to My Daughters

Having two adolescent daughters is challenging on many levels.  One obstacle that pops up is their lack of willingness to answer my questions, such as, "How was school?"  Their never-fail answers are always something like, "It was fine, but I don't feeeeeel like giving you all the details."  End of discussion.

Last week after I composed and posted my list of 2012 Favorites, I thought it may be a good conversation starter with my girls.  I was right.  At first, they begrudgingly read it.  But after one simple question from me-What were your favorites of 2012?-they miraculously opened up.

I found out there was a group of girls on Twitter cutting themselves due to the horror of Justin Bieber smoking weed (truly shocking).  I found out that my 14 year old has quickly moved on from thinking pop music is cool to thinking it's "stupid" and helped her choose different words to express this opinion in order to not hurt her 12 year old sister's feelings.  We talked drugs, the objectification of women in videos, the good and the bad of pop culture.

I am not certain if they realized we were talking about such significant topics.  That was not the point. For me, the priority was and is to be available in the moment, when the important emerges.

Out of our discussion came their willingness and desire to share their favorites from 2012 here.  Of course, I was and am willing to do so.  And of course, I am hoping this post will spur even more conversation.

2012 Favorites

                     Antonia                                                              Sophia
                     (age 12)                                                               (age 14)

Movie:        
                    Pitch Perfect                                          Perks of Being a Wallflower


Album:        
                    Red, Taylor Swift                                   Centipede Hz, Animal Collective


Song:          
                    Boyfriend, Justin Bieber                       Myth, Beach House


Tweeter:      
                    N/A                                                           N/A


Blog:          
                    Sperk*                                                      "I don't read blogs."


TV Show:  
                    Arrested Development                           Arrested Development 


Instagrammer:
                    Boo the Dog                                            Pudge the Cat


Moment:      
                    "Having a facial                                     Tie between trip to D.C. -
                     on my birthday."                                   performing in spring musical                                                                                                                                                    


Conference:
                    Junior Winds Camp                                Ohio Junior Thespians


Viral Video:  
                    Star Wars Kid (not from 2012,                 Gangnam Style
                       but still her favorite)



What were some of your kids' favorites from 2012?
How do you start conversations with your kids?


                                                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                               

10 Best Movie Quotes

I am thrilled to be participating in my first Monday Listicles of 2013.  There was one last week, however, I did not have myself organized enough to get one together.  This week, I barely was able to cut my list down to 10.  The topic is 10 Best Movie Quotes as suggested by Ally at Just a Normal Mom.  Great topic, tons to choose from, and very timely being it's awards show season.

As a bonus, I mixed in my daughters' favorite movie quotes.  Within the list, there is one favorite from Antonia (age 12) and one from Sophia (age 14).  Find their choices among the 10 and let me know your guess in the comment section.

10 Best Movie Quotes  

(in no particular order)

*"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me." ~The Departed

*"Hurt people hurt people."  ~Greenberg

*"Losers are people who are so afraid of not winning, they don't even try."  ~Little Miss Sunshine

*"He's the cheese to my macaroni" ~Juno

*"Our good fortune allowed us to feel a sadness our parents never had time for." ~Beginners

*"Sometimes, I guess there just aren't enough rocks."  ~Forrest Gump

*"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends."  ~Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone

*"Just keep swimming." ~Finding Nemo 

*"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void." ~You've Got Mail

*"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'."  ~The Empire Strikes Back

photo credit: wallyg via photopin cc

Sperk* 2012 Favorites

The 2013 clock is ticking, I know.  

It’s always a good idea to reflect on the past in order to change the future.  However, some things get etched in the mind as our favorites, things we wish would never change.  These are the snapshots we print on acid-free paper and tape into the scrapbook.  If I still did scrapbooking, the following are the things you would find in mine from 2012: 

Favorite 2012 Movie: I see movies late, when they enter the realm of cable television.  For that reason, my favorite flick of 2012 was released in 2011: The Big Year.  It’s charming, funny, hopeful and I can watch it with my kids.

Favorite Album: Pound of Dirt by Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds - I came across this band while perusing Songkick for an opportunity to go out on a Friday night.  This band is hot and I predict they are going to blow up.  Meaning, if you can see them in a small music venue near you, do so, and soon.  If you wait, you’ll be smooshed in a crowd of sweaty people at a summer music festival, unable to see who’s tearing up all those instruments.

Favorite Song: We Are Never Getting Back Together - I’m a closet Taylor Swift fan.  Yes, I am.  It helps me relate to my tween and provides good conversational material for my teen: “Mom, how is it that Taylor Swift can be such a player and not get any flack?  I mean, if I went through that many boyfriends. . .”

Favorite Tweeter: @brainpicker – Maria Popova – Because her tweets contain the most interesting links.

Favorite Blog: Angela Shelton – Inspiring, creative, funny, intelligent.

Favorite TV Show: Enlightened – I watched the entire first season two times while the kids were gone over Christmas break.  It’s the first show I could relate to as a 40 year old woman.  Love it.  Season 2 begins on HBO in three days.  

Favorite Instagramer: @northwestmommy  - That boy, that dog and that scenery, oh my.

Favorite Moment: Too many to choose from.  I consider myself lucky and easy to please.  However, if I have to choose, the first day of school (pictured above) was pretty stellar. My oldest went to high school.  I think we are going to make it.

Favorite Conference: AFC North – I’m a die-hard Steelers fan.  (You know I’m talking NFL, right?).

Favorite Viral Video: Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic freefall from 128k – How can one not be inspired by this?

I Can't Not Say It

As I posted the first Wednesday’s Woman of 2013 this morning, reentering the world of blogging after what seemed to me like a long hiatus, I was reminded of how healthy and necessary this is for me--the practice of communicating, connecting, healing, and celebrating.  Laughing with one and other and holding each other up as we reveal parts of ourselves that need light in order to move on and let go.  As a parent and as a person who strives to get better and be better, I need to be here.

This sort of self-declaration may seem redundant or unnecessary.  However, while I was away from Sperk*, I did a lot of thinking (at times, maybe too much).  I questioned whether or not I should devote so much of my time to this space.  It certainly isn't bringing in any considerable income.  And, at times, I don’t feel like I can share everything I need to because I have to protect my children.  I mean, I am choosing to share these stories.  They are along as participants only because they somehow ended up being my daughters.  The are not participating because they are dying for the world to get to know them through my eyes.

I questioned whether or not what I was sharing was relevant to anything. . .

or nothing . . .

or something. 

I don’t have all the answers to the above.  But I do know this:  Using my voice forces growth in the right direction.   When I am silent, my growth is stunned.  And already, after just one post, I feel as though it is possible to let go of all the pain and worry I conjured up while away from Sperk*.

I am in the process of discerning how much pain and worry I conjured on my own and how much was inflicted: 1) I already left the job I started in December.    This was heartbreaking and I still haven’t figured out if being a teacher is really my calling.  2) My mother sent me the most evil text in the world in December.  (I am sure she felt the same about my text to her.)  This was heartbreaking and I still haven’t figured out how to put this one down and let it go.

But I do know this:  Without this process—writing, posting, and commenting—I will never figure it out.  So, here I am.  Stay tuned.

photo credit: Will Lion via photopin cc

Photo Hunt in My Phone

With the theme of SHARING 10 PHOTOS FROM YOUR PHONE, three of my favorite pastimes come together--Monday Listicles, Instagram and The Columbus Museum of Art. 

   

Did you know the Columbus Museum of Art recently opened the nation's first Instagram installation and one of my photos is included?

My photo in the CMA Photo Hunt Installation

Embracing technology and the power of social media, the Columbus Museum of Art presents the first museum exhibition generated by Instagram. CMA used its critically acclaimed exhibition The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League, 1936 – 1951 as the inspiration for a social media campaign encouraging people to “become a modern-day Photo Leaguer by participating in Columbus Museum of Art Photo Hunts.” The result is an exhibition of more than 30 works, each taken using the popular Instagram app, on view in CMA’s Community Gallery.   ~artdaily.org

CMA's Photo Hunt Series continues and anyone from anywhere in the world can participate via Instagram, Twitter, or Flickr.  Simply hashtag your photos #CMAPhotohunt and include the hashtag for the current theme.  

The theme running until November 30 is #family.  I know all of you have some great shots that represent family.  Hashtag 'em and maybe you'll be chosen for the next CMA Photo Hunt installation in January!  For more info check out CMA's blog.

With all of the photos I have been taking for CMA's Photo Hunt, fulfilling my favorite blogging meme's theme for this week was easy:

Monday Listicles

10 RANDOM PHOTOS FROM SPERK*S PHONE

1. MY JOURNAL

2. LATE NIGHT RUN FOR MILK

3. M AND ME MAKING IT INTO THE OBAMA RALLY

4. THE VIEW FROM MY FRONT PORCH AT SUNDOWN

5. MY FAVORITE DOG, FRODO

6. SHE DOESN'T LIKE MORNINGS
AND IS GOING TO HATE ME FOR POSTING THIS

7. PRAYING THE CLOTHING GODS
WILL DELIVER SOMETHING TO WEAR TO SCHOOL TOMORROW

8. M AND ME ON THANKSGIVING #FAMILY

9. ME A FEW HOURS LATER, BLACK FRIDAY

10. MY HEART...MY GIRLS

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE INTERESTING PHOTOS IN THESE BLOGGERS' PHONES:

The Breath of Life

I feel I have been absent as of late, not just from Sperk*, but from something indefinable.  However, I won’t bore you with examination of the vague and give only the concrete.  Certainly there has been movement.  After months of a plague of depression, there has been forward progression even amid costly inconveniences:  Scruffy had his tail amputated after nearly chewing it off, the main drain to the house was clogged and filling the basement with feces, and my front tooth composite finally crumbled after many months of gingerly eating and cementing it with toothpaste during the night.  These were all financial setbacks, indeed, and at the most inopportune time of the year, the holidays.

The girls are well.  My tween who is emerging into a teen is quite gorgeous, like a sprouting tree in the spring, in her entirety, not just in her outward beauty.  My teen of 14 years is a constant mystery and deliverer of stress, but I’m learning to take it in stride with less seriousness and worry.  And last week, I finally put my year old degree to use and gained employment.  I’ll be caring for little ones full time.  It is funny that caring for small humans, during the most significant juncture of human development, pays the least in the field of education.  It is my opinion that early educators should be paid on the scale of professors.  And we should be required to have the same amount of education as college level instructors.  However, if that were the case, I wouldn't have my current employment, right?

The clock says 6:31 am, so I must wake the girls.  Here’s to coffee, cool autumn mornings, and the breath of life that keeps us going.

photo credit: Muffet via photopin cc

Wordless Wednesday: Autumn Archive

Autumn in Northern California, 2004
Photo by Frida Azari

Thankful for Sophia and Antonia

Wednesday's Woman: Light in a Dark Place

Depression, Women, the Holidays and Hope.

Thanksgiving, the official start to the holiday season, is upon us. 

Are you feeling happy, grateful, and excited, anticipating the wonderful food and laughter shared with family?  Or are you feeling stressed, anxious, and tired?  Possibly, and most likely, you are experiencing a mix of emotions. 

For those suffering from depression, the anxiety that accompanies the holidays can be unbearable.  It can be frightening:  the expectations, the money, the time…

….did I mention the expectations?

Contrary to popular belief, occurrences of depression do not increase during the holidays.  However, what is found to be true is that women are more likely to suffer from depression than men.

From the National Institute of Mental Health:

• One in four women will experience severe depression at some point in life.

• Depression affects twice as many women as men, regardless of racial and ethnic background or   income.

• Depression is the number one cause of disability in women.

Wednesday’s Woman is a space to honor women who are doing great things, on a grand, global scale, or on a smaller, but not less significant scale, in the home.  For many women, their greatest feat is getting out of bed.

Today, for Wednesday’s Woman, I am honoring all women who are suffering and/or surviving with depression.  To help me do so, I am grateful to welcome Kristen from the Preppy Girl in Pink:

************************************************************************

Hi, I'm Kristen from The Preppy Girl in Pink. I am a wife, a mom to two girls and work from home part time. I am not always strong but I am rarely weak. My daughters constantly remind me how good life can truly be. 

Light in a Dark Place

It was hard to get out of bed today. The curtains were drawn to keep the street lights out at night but weren't allowing the natural light of the day in either. I hit snooze on the alarm clock again and again. 

I stretched my arms, my legs and my back. I rolled over and faced the curtains. I had to force myself out of the bed and to them.

I pulled the panels apart and there wasn't much change in the light in the room.

It was another grey, cold, damp day. The days that make it hard to get out of bed. 

Could I lie and say it is because of weather like this that I want to sink back into bed and enjoy the coziness of my bed? Yes, I could.

But I won't.

It is the darkness outside my window that awakens the darkness in the soul. 

All of the heartache.

All of the doubt.

All of the guilt.

All of the pressure.

I know I should move one foot at a time in the direction of both of my two daughters' bedrooms. They need to get up and ready for school. 

I can't though.

My feet move me back to my bed. 

I tuck myself back in and feel alone as I lay in the fetal position.

I think to myself, 'Maybe I can just let the day go on around me. Maybe...'

But then I hear a giggle.

And then another.

I glance up and see the light from my 8 year old daughter's bedroom pouring into the hallway. That can only mean one thing, she is reading before the morning routine gets started. Her favorite way to start the day is with a book in her hands. 

She calls out to me, "Mom, do you remember when Ron did this? He cracks me up!" and then reads a few lines from one of the Harry Potter novels that she is currently devouring. 

She belly laughs this time.

And that is when I can feel the sunshine even when I can't see it.

That is when I turn off the alarm clock instead of hitting snooze again. 

That is when I tell myself that I have two daughters that need me. They need all of me. Not just the person going through the actions of the day.

They need my heart. They need my soul. They need to see that I can keep the darkness out with the light they shine upon me.

And I need to allow their light in so that I can let my light shine too. 

*************************************************************************************************************************************

Resources for coping with depression during the holidays:

Stress, depression and the holidays

Dealing with holiday stress

Depression at the holidays

Please know I am grateful for you. . . Happy Thanksgiving!

photo credit: PHOTO/arts Magazine via photopin cc

Save It for Later: Women Veterans and Senators

Congratulations! You survived Election 2012.  It was exciting and great for women.  Here’s the best of what I bookmarked this week, all related to women and being American.  Happy Veterans Day!

Women Veterans

Veterans Advantage

According to Veterans Advantage, “Roughly 15% of today’s military are women, but military observers will tell you their influence is greater than their numbers suggest and it's growing.”  As you make your reflections for Veterans Day, be sure to remember some female military greats here: Saluting Women Who Served.

Rape in the Military

The Invisible War

Amy Ziering, producer of the film, The Invisible War, which sheds light on the epidemic of rape in the United States Military, states “There’s much about being raped in the military that’s categorically different from civilian rape.  In many ways it can be even more profoundly damaging. If you’re a civilian, you can seek immediate comfort and support from friends and family, you can seek recourse through an impartial criminal justice system, and you are not blamed and castigated if you report. What the public doesn't realize is that if you are raped in the military, you don’t have these options. Plus, it goes against the creed you've been taught—‘A good soldier doesn’t tell on a fellow soldier — good marines suck it up.’ All these things combined have kept so many victims from being able to talk about what happened to them,” (Los Angeles Post, June 26, 2012).

It is vital to raise awareness of the epidemic of rape in the military as we continue to strive in our country for the elimination of and healing from crimes against women.  For more information see the website, Not Invisible, where you can watch the trailer, request a screening, and obtain information on having your voice heard.

Celebrating Women Senators

Do you know all of the recently elected female U.S. Senators?  I love this presentation I found on Prezi:

Meet your Women Senators on Prezi

Let's Not Forget Our Widows

The American Widow Project

Back in April, Anna Mahler, a regular contributor to Wednesday's Woman spotlighted Taryn Davis, founder of the American Widow Project.  Veterans Day is certainly a time to keep our widows in our thoughts.

“While the service member’s sacrifice is acknowledged, many simply forget or fail to recognize the sacrifice of the spouse who is now left a widow of war. Often times the invisible wounds of military widows are disregarded due to age or a simple lack of knowledge and understanding." ~Taryn Davis

The American Widow Project provides peer to peer support for a new generation of military widows.  For more information go here: The American Widow Project. 

Women Do Not Belong in the Kitchen

This has nothing to do with the election or veterans.  I simply feel compelled to share.

The trouble with depression is indolence becomes my best friend.  Time with my best friend keeps me from doing things like chores, exercising, reading, and the like.  However, depression and its accompanying sloth does give a great excuse for leaving the dishes, which I despise doing.  

These dishes have been accumulating since Thursday,
a true, off-line, Save It for Later.

Even though I am happy to report that I am gaining momentum (yesterday I raked leaves and cleaned out my car with the help of my youngest daughter, Antonia), I could not bring myself to tackle that sink. This morning, my significant other did it for me.  Thanks, M.  I seriously do not belong in the kitchen.


Save It for Later is a regular feature sharing the week's best bookmarks that I saved to read later.