Interesting...
Here's a fun link I like to browse through in my spare time, it's the phobia list!
http://www.phobialist.com
Today's phobia:
Zemmiphobia- Fear of the great mole rat.
There's an interesting topic: Fear. Why are we afraid of weird things like cotton balls and sunflowers? I myself am afraid that I may jump off of something very high, i.e. the balcony at Symphony Hall, the Grand Canyon. I don't know why I experience the urge, but last time I was on a plane I wanted to jump out the window so I could see what the clouds feel like. Apparently they're cold and icy and when you're falling really fast (as you would when you jump from an airplane) all that ice is hitting you in the face and it's not so fun. I just think it'd be kind of fun to fall really really far. Hitting the ground doesn't sound so fun...
So, what're you afraid of and why?
My Favorite Things #3
Shopping, but not for pants.
Life Symbols
So I stumbled across a blog called The Happiness Project
The Happiness Project which I highly recommend. Recently, one of the posts encouraged readers to start their own happiness project and to pick a symbol to represent themselves, an avatar of sorts. There was a link for a site which listed universal symbols and their meanings here:
I was wondering what one symbol could represent my life right now and what universal and individual meanings it holds. I eventually settled on a sapphire to represent myself and my happiness. According to the symbols sight, it represents intuition and premonition, both of which I rely on or experience frequently. It's also the stone in my wedding ring, so it represents my marriage, eternity, faithfulness, loyalty, and relationships on a personal level.
The primary color of a sapphire is blue, although sapphires can be nearly any color (except red--then it's a ruby) including different shades of blue, white, pink, purple, orange, and yellow. All of these colors have various meanings and symbolism, but blue is very diverse in and of itself. Blue can symbolize loyalty, honesty, knowledge, and confidence. Blue can be a calming color or a depressing color. Blue is a natural color and surrounds us on every side from the sky and the water around us. There's even a bird native to Australia and New Guinea called the Satin Bowerbird that will steal
anything blue(including shotgun shells and baby binkies) to decorate its bower and attract a mate. Blue is quite the color, if I do say so myself.
So here's my question for all three of you readers out there (if there are more of you, speak up!), what avatar or symbol would you pick to represent yourself and why?
WWMS?
What would Momma say?
I just ran across a fun post at Rocks in my Dryer (http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/) all about the parental catch phrase. My life is so replete with these mommisms that I thought it deserved its own post instead of just commenting on theirs, and I'd love to hear what the rest of you remember our Momma (and dad, I guess) saying to us.
Mommisms:
Listen to what I mean, not what I say!
In response to whining about aches and pains: Ohhh, poor baby! Shall we cut it off?
Oh, cussword!
Patience, Prudence.
In response to requests for transportation: You got legs.
In response to an I love you: I love me too. (one of my absolute faves.)
And I do remember once, when I was very small, getting the dadism: don't cry or I'll give you something to cry about! And I believe that led to getting something worth crying about, namely a spanking.
What do you remember your parents saying that you plan on using or already do use with your children?
Opera, Anyone?
Which Mozart Opera Does Your Life Most Resemble?
Thoughts on Motherhood
So a friend recently drew my attention to the fact that I have skipped a couple of months without an update. There are a few factors involved in this, one of them (of course) being my state of upcoming motherhood. Also involved is the fact that I have sent (a couple) emails, and couldn't think of much to say on blogger that wouldn't be redundant. Also contributing to the lack of posts was the fact that my computer was homeless. We gave our old computer desk to my SIL so our computer was on the floor in my back room (the only room with a phone jack for our internet connection) waiting for my husband to get a chance to crawl underneath the house to run a phone line to the kitchen where a gently loved new-to-us computer desk awaited the arrival of it's new occupant. So, my computer's been sitting on the floor for a month, and I'm too preggers now to sit on the floor and try to type.
So, I thought now that my computer has taken up residence in it's new desk, I would finally write a few of my scattered thoughts on impending motherhood down.
First of all, I learned a couple of facts about pregnancy that really shocked me:
1. I have 50% more blood in my body right now than I would if I wasn't pregnant
2. My brain has literally shrunk 8% in size.
PREGNANCY ACTUALLY CAUSES WOMEN'S BRAINS TO SHRINK!!! It regains it's normal size 6 mo.s post-partum, but it's still crazy to think that my brain is tiny right now! It sure explains a lot...just ask my boss! I've been making a ton of stupid mistakes lately. Now I have a really good excuse!
So, although I think I'm fairly emotionally prepared for motherhood, I do think that I do have on some rose-colored glasses. This is the first time that I won't be working since I've been married, and I keep thinking that I'll at least have time to vacuum and sweep regularly. However, from what I've read and heard from somewhat reliable sources, I'll have even less time than I do now, at least for a while, and I'll be trying to function while being severely sleep-deprived. hmmm, I may be in for a little bit of a wake-up call...no pun intended.
My biggest fear is that my dear husband will be even more shocked than I at the lack of time that I have. I think he's really excited for me to stay home and he has visions of Betty Crocker making sugar plums to dance through his head.... I know he'll adjust quickly, and I probably don't give him enough credit, but I'm still nervous about the whole thing.
At this stage, though, despite the fact that my nursery is still little more than a room in which to dump my junk (
help!) I'm quite frightened by the prospect of labor and delivery. I know mentally that I shouldn't be. I know that, if I choose it, I can have pain killers that will significantly reduce the pain and ease the whole process. I have doctors that I really trust. I know that all my sisters and my mother have had relatively quick and problem-free deliveries. I know that women have been doing this for centuries and come out the other end still breathing, but it still scares me!I also know this is a natural feeling for me and that everyone will do everything they can to take care of me and alleviate my anxiety, but it's still a big thing.
And the last thing: quit touching me! I know what a temptation it is to touch a pregnant woman's belly, but that does not mean that I'm going to touch the belly of a complete stranger in the grocery store! Honestly people, BOUNDARIES! If anybody finds a t-shirt that says 'touching by invitation only', please send it to me. I'm not motivated enough to make one myself.
Romantic? Not So Much
So I've had this painting on my computer desktop for a while now, and the more I look at it, the more I realize there's a lot being said here. So, without further ado, here is my analysis of Gustav Klimt's
The Kiss.
1. That guy is kind of short. He's standing up and she's kneeling and still almost as tall as he is.
2. I don't think she's enduring this kiss, not enjoying it, for the following reasons:
A) She's turning her head away from him
B) She's not smiling
C) Her toes and fingers (esp. on the hand behind his neck) are curled like she's very tense.
3. I think the man is quite threatening and is planning to hurt the girl.
A) He's holding her head in a very unnatural position, esp. for a kiss, and he won't let her move
B) He's got her on the edge of a cliff, her feet are hanging over the edge for crying out loud! Which does explain why her hand is around his neck, something unusual for someone being forced to kiss someone else. She's trying to hang onto him so she won't go over the edge.
C) He doesn't even look like he's kissing her, he may be whispering "I'm going to kill you" in her ear.
4. The background of this piece is kind of dark and scary. Granted, it's typical Klimt, but it's still dark and scary, like there's an especially evil rainstorm about to pound all those flowers into the ground.
5. My conclusions/story about this painting is as follows:
He is a guy she was dating out of pity (short, perhaps not that good looking, and made fun of by all the other girls). She feels bad for him and agrees to go out on ONE date. He immediately becomes obsessed with her and insanely jealous. She realizes what a crazy person he is and lets him know in no uncertain terms that he is not allowed anywhere in her vicinity, but he can't accept that as he now sees her as his property. He starts (well, continues, actually) stalking her and catches her alone picking flowers in the meadow by the edge of the cliff where he pleads for her to take him back. She's scared and refuses and he thinks that one kiss will change her mind so he grabs her and kisses her as she struggles to get away. He doesn't realize how close to the edge of the cliff they are (he's also mentally very close to the edge) and when he realizes that she's trying to get away from him, he'll push her away, and subsequently over the edge to her death.
The interesting part is that he will still see himself as the victim in this relationship.
The really sad thing is that this story is on the news every day...
Heroes
So for girl's camp this year we're trying to find inspirational young women in history that our girls can emulate, such as Joan of Arc. This is really a toughie, though, seeing as how history doesn't record much about teenage girls that is easily accessible to us. If any of you know of some young women (12-17) who have significantly stood out in history in the name of doing what is right, I'd love your suggestions. Thanks!
