I’m overhauling all the ecosystems of our life. Freshening up the actual files to de-folderizing the computer files, digitizing old photos and learning an online task manager, and some time this winter I’ve promised myself that I will complete my recipe archive in Living Cookbook. Sometimes I think I’m a freak. And what in the world would I do if Google ever goes under?!

Partly this is the fault of Gina’s book, but I will admit to always being an organizer. There were weekends when I was a teen where all my free time was spent rearranging my upstairs bedroom to meet some new need or wild hair. The trend continues. Tonight is my weekend off, and Husband wanted to play Halo and I actually said… No. I really did. And I LOVE Halo. (p.s. We beat ODST together on Heroic. Oh man, that was sweet.)

So far tonight, I’ve checked two big tasks off my to-do list over @ Remember the Milk and I feel rosy-cheeked and invigorated. I adore this process. I’m going for two more completions. Wow. And yet, what the hell is wrong with me?

Nothing. I think I am metamorphosic. We are changing. I am changing. Priorities are different and I am allowing myself to let old values go and forcing myself to pay attention to values I still hold dear. Hobbies have come and gone. Most of all, I am a working mom with many demands on my free time and yet still I want it all.

But I think now, today, I have a better idea than ever of what I want most. As if I’m more alive somehow and now I finally thankfully amazingly have control over my own life. I don’t feel muffled anymore or unsure or clueless. I get ideas. I follow through instead of putting them down. Occasionally they don’t work, but even if that’s true, they are always a stepping stone. Gaining confidence. Walking with my head up. I feel in control. Not that life is playdough, but the way I play with it is my decision, my choice. loving, loving, loving it.

Share this post!

I’ve just crossed out of my twenties and into my thirties. It’s a very strange place to be. I still feel 19, but a much much smarter 19. My girlfriends all say the same thing. How come we’ve all *just* come to the place where we feel like our life has begun?

For me, I thought it was due to moving back and forth from the US to Canada a couple of times and only now being settled in one place, but they haven’t done any such thing, so maybe that’s simply what your thirties are for?

ps. Lol! this whole post is a mistake. I meant to hit “save to draft” and flesh it out later but hit “post” instead. I think I’ll just leave it now. Wisdom, indeed.

Share this post!

Having seen this book featured on Wired Online, I was super excited to get my free copy from a Goodreads giveaway.

At the end of it all, however, I was underwhelmed by this book. It felt more like reading a really interesting textbook than a page-turner, even a nonfiction one. It contains tons of useful tidbits and concepts – Dunbar’s number, Levy flight pattern, Three Degrees of Influence Rule – fun experiments and little known information about things I thought I knew a lot about, but still I had to plow through and keep reading.

I had the impression too that the focus of the book would be online social media and the connections society is making there, but that topic is really an aside and used, in the last chapter, more as one big proof to reinforce all of the points made throughout the book.

Connected was the sort of book that I had to read when someone else was in the room. That way I could read aloud the enlightening data and interesting statistics to my companion which would lead us down a merry path of fascinating discussion. Too bad the book’s own exploration of the same topics was usually bland.

In better social-connectedness news, I finally figured out how to add Google friend connect to my WordPress blog, so over in the sidebar there is a nifty little gadget that will let you “follow” me around and hang on my every word. hehe

Share this post!

There was never a Queen like Balkis,
From here to the wide world’s end;
But Balkis talked to a butterfly
As you would talk to a friend.

There was never a King like Solomon,
Not since the world began;
But Solomon talked to a butterfly
As a man would talk to a man.

She was Queen of Sabaea–
And he was Asia’s Lord–
But they both of ‘em talked to butterflies
When they took their walks abroad!

~ from The Butterfly that Stamped,
by Rudyard Kipling

Share this post!

Reading challenges are encouraged and undertaken everywhere on the blogs and podcasts that I love, but up until now, I’ve  shrugged them off as overwhelming. Who has the time to read books in addition to what is already on your nightstand? was my usual objection. Funny how you always eat your words.

Days later I started drafting a post that included the one thought…

“I’m unfailingly drawn to women’s voices: in music, literature and television.”

This is usual blogging practice for me. Catch one phrase out of the soup, digest, ruminate, flesh it out later. This particular thought was odd however because though I felt very strongly about it and noticed the pattern in my life – for example my “girls” playlist in iTunes – I had no idea what else needed to be said… yet.

Enter Lily, one of my Chicks on Lit friends and book blogger, who posted on Sunday about a brand new challenge called Women Unbound, a real blog community effort, that is set to run from November of this year to November of next. My imagination was instantly captivated and recognized that I had been given the means to delve further into undiscovered thoughts. Awesome.

Women Unbound now has it’s own blog where you will find all the rules of participating and pretty buttons to decorate your blog if you’d like to participate. The general theme is fairly obvious, but…

Participants are encouraged to read nonfiction and fiction books related to the rather broad idea of ‘women’s studies.’  The definition according to Merriam-Webster is the multidisciplinary study of the social status and societal contributions of women and the relationship between power and gender.

And there are different levels of commitment, which I like!

• Philogynist: read at least two books, including at least one nonfiction one.
• Bluestocking: read at least five books, including at least two nonfiction ones.
• Suffragette: read at least eight books, including at least three nonfiction ones.

Ever since discovering the challenge, I’ve been pouring over my to-read shelf over at Goodreads, my own physical bookshelves as well as all of the other participants reading lists to find just what suited me best. I’ve even saved the hashtag search for #unbound on Twitter as it’s a good resource and place to chat. Best of all, here is the complete list of participants. Watch it, there will be some amazing reviews.

At the end of it all, I’ve made my own challenge reading shelf at Goodreads that you can check out, but I’ve copied and pasted my choices here as well. The results are a combination of classics I’ve always wanted to read, fantasy I wasn’t ready for once upon a time but am now, science fiction, lots of southern (read: home) influence, one Canadian and one from my profession.

I’m thrilled and am diving into The Handmaid’s Tale first, as I picked up a hardcover copy last time I was at the Goodwill 1/2 off sale and it is one of the November reads for the Chicks. And yes, I’m going for my Suffragette badge of honor. I have the sudden urge to put Mary Poppins on! lol

I always said that my mom raised me to be a good feminist. Here goes!

Nonfiction:

The Maternal Is Political, Shari MacDonald Strong (Editor)

The Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler

The Curse of the Good Girl, Rachel Simmons

Notes on Nursing, Florence Nightingale

A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf

Fiction:

The Color Purple, Alice Walker

Kindred, Octavia Butler

The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Children’s Book, A.S. Byatt

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood

The Awakening, Kate Chopin

Share this post!