Accomplishments so far this week

This week I have:

-signed up for a sewing class (I am gonna make a BAG! Jealous much?)
-bought a new sports bra, running shorts, and tennis balls (the hubs and I got our game on last night--well it was really just volleying back and forth)
-watched So You Think You Can Dance and decided that Robert is my favorite. He is the best. Trust me, especially after his Travis Wall routine last night. Am I a dork? Yes.
-went running monday MORNING with Kyle. It was good. It's definitely hard to get up in the morning but it's much cooler than when I get home from work or later at night.
-bought everything for my sewing class but the material. Does anyone know what heavy weight cotton looks like. I went to JOANNs and they are so corporate and cold and busy. I hate stopping workers. (FYI I am not taking my class at Joanns, I am taking it at a local seattle place called Stitches)
-painted my toenails tropical temptation. It's basically neon salmon colored. LOVE IT!
-finished one book and started another. Except I left it at home today so I couldn't read it at work. MAJOR BUMMER.
- Nannied a 2-year-old who has delayed speech (she can now say "more") 8-4 everyday. It's not rocket science but what if those rockets didn't understand the word "no," hated eating in their high chair so that food gets EVERYWHERE and you have to follow them picking it up, screams if they don't get their way... you catch my drift? (FYI these are magical rockets we are talking about...)


On a happy note. I am going to a BBQ with some friends tonight. I am going to make a grilled salad I saw on the Giada De Laurentis show. Dude her food looks so good. Basically you grill romaine lettuce, zucchini, corn. Chop tomatoes, avacado, and Bibb lettuce. Then mix together. She also added shrimp but not everyone likes shrimp. Those people are crazy in my mind. Anyways I am excited to see how it turns out. Seems simple enough...I will probably botch it though. It seems I can only bake so far. The oven likes me. The stove range not so much.

What else should I attempt to accomplish?

Things I love.

Summer has finally hit Seattle. Us Seattleites are very grateful and a little annoyed. Seattle doesn't prep for summer. It just comes in with a BANG! 

The fourth of July was overcast, which turned into a misting rain, then downpour. Our family came over while we were housesitting for my aunt and we had a fun little BBQ. Indoors. 

Then this week the sun came out blazing. Summer days so far had averaged in the 60s. Then it was 80-90 degrees with NO clouds. 

That's okay though because I have been getting tan this week. 

But anyways, this post isn't about the switch to ridiculously hot weather (we are wimps in Seattle okay...) but about things that I love lately.

1. gnocci (It's an Italian pasta dumpling thing and is absolutely delicious. If you see it on a menu try it!)

2. oil spray. My mother gave me an oil body spray that smells like heaven a year ago. For some reason I decided I didn't want to use it. I use it everyday now. It's made with monoi which is some sort of tropical plant. Basically it lotions my legs lightly and covers me with the perfect scent for summer.

3. Lisa Draney. This girl became one of my best friends when I first joined the Church. We lived together twice over the course of being in college and basically our lives are very much in sync lately. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful friend to share experiences with.

4. my blue coral necklace from Capri. I love wearing it when I am tan because it makes my blue eyes stand out. 

This is right after I bought the necklace in Capri. its the best photo I have of the necklace. Kinda random though. I had pulled my sunglasses down for some reason and forgot where they were on my face, then I tried to eat a french fry. This is the result.

5. The Book of Mormon. Seriously it's the best book ever.

6. Naps on a handmade quilt in a park. My husband and I were under the perfect tree, not too shady, not too sunny. Just perfect.

7. Summer produce. All of the best foods come in the summer when the freshest produce is available. Everything tastes infinitely better. 

8. Estee Lauder mascara. I am a picky mascara person but this stuff is non clumpy, non flaky, everyday mascara

9. Shaved legs. As a girl shaving my legs is a tedious project that I avoid as much as possible. Especially with the shower I now have, there is no room for bending so I have to sit down in order to not cut myself constantly. My legs only get attention during the colder months on Sunday mornings so that no one at church has to see my nastiness. But during the summer I try to do a quick shave every time I shower. There is nothing better than that smooth feeling. Add some Monoi Oil Spray and I feel and smell like paradise (this is solely my opinion of myself)

10. Summer dusk. The sun is setting, the temperature is finally perfect and there is just enough sunlight to enjoy what's around you.

Learning.

My passion?

Learning.

I was thinking about passions this week. How some people are masters at dance, painting, singing, mathematics, running, hairstyling, writing, the list goes on an on.

I started thinking about what my passion is. What I naturally live and breathe for. I can sing, dance, act, I love reading, pretty good at math, I hate running, wish I could paint, wouldn't have minded going to beauty school.....so what is my passion?

I love learning. It's what I excel at. All my life I have been teacher's pet. I never thought I was overly brown-nosing my teacher or anything. But I think my teacher's liked me because I was teachable. I liked learning. I would sit quiet and pay attention to those who I respected and could learn from.

I wasn't a perfect student by any means. If I don't respect a teacher (i.e. I don't think they can really teach me anything..) then its hard for me to pay attention, hard for me to learn.

So school fulfilled my passion to fill my mind with as much information and skills as possible. I would say information dominated skills in college. Sure you learn to write, take a test, pass your class. But I wish I had learned to sew, paint (which I could have done at UW), run, play an instrument, the list goes on and on.

There is so much I want to learn.

So I made a list. A list of what I want to learn to do.

1. run

2. yoga

3. paint

4. sew

5. style hair

6. cook 

7. travel affordably

8. garden

9. write (not essays, but a novel)

10. play guitar/piano

There are more. But this is all I will write down for now. I wish college was more introductory. Sure you can take beginning dance, painting, and writing at UW. But you can't learn to sew, style hair, garden, play guitar (they have classes for those already trained), yoga. I know some colleges provide those experiences, but not UW. So maybe I went to the wrong college? Took the wrong classes? Either way it doesn't matter now. I graduated.

So my goal now. To take sewing classes, learning to garden, start running, make my husband teach me guitar.

Welp, looks like I still gotta whole lotta learnin' to do.

What are your passions? What do you wish was your passion (i.e. you could do instead of watching tv like me)?

On feminism

ok. this is a touchy issue. My purpose here is to state my view. How I understand feminism and why I think it rocks. 

That's right. ROCKS. I am a feminist.

Let's get a basic definition, just to center everyone.

Main Entry: fem·i·nism 

Pronunciation: \ˈfe-mə-ˌni-zəm\

Function: noun

Date: 1895

1 : the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes 2 : organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests

This is from Merriam-Webster. I tried to do the Oxford English because it's super fancy. But Merriam is just as legit.

Anyways.

So feminism is the theory (idea, belief, etc) that the sexes should be equal. This is what makes me crazy when people say to my face (boys and girls) that "No Gina, I am not a feminist." Even after I give them the definition from the dictionary. 

Okay okay so your thinking...."Gina...let's be honest. Feminism is a little more complex than equality of the sexes on the political (meaning we should get the right to vote, own property), economical (we deserve equal pay for equal work, own property, have own bank account), and social (meaning we have a welfare of our own, a right to walk down the street, make our own choices) levels."

To this I answer, yes. It is much more complex than these levels. I minored in women's studies which meant I got to take many classes about feminism and its different types. Most people know this, but I will elaborate.

Feminism is on a spectrum. From super radical (burn those bras! fight the man! BE THE MAN!) to very conservative (men and women are equal, they deserve the same things but each has their place). 

There are waves of feminism. First wave was the suffrage movement, second was paired with the civil rights movement (burning bras came up here), and the third is said to have been during the 80s-90s with Title IX, although many consider it is today.

Okay. So the second wave pretty much gave feminism a bad name. Remember in Mary Poppins how the Mom is a suffragist and they kinda make her seem a little crazy, but in reality it was so important for women to get the right to vote. The thing is the focus was solely on white women. They weren't thinking about the spectrum of women. But in general, the first wave was very mild and calm. Then the second wave came along during the Civil Rights movement and during the Vietnam war. Basically women said, "we aren't gonna conform to these roles anymore, we can do everything a man can do (so far so good), in fact we are BETTER than men (whoa there...). This is where the amazon women came in. These strong, empowered women. It was an important step, but the attitudes left a huge mark. One that now plagues feminists all over the world.

Sure, I know plenty of feminists that still hold these ideals. But here's the secret. Feminism can be whatever you want it to be, as long as you recognize the basic tenets of equality. Don't let the radicals dictate whether or not you confess to be a feminist. You should be proud to say, " Hey I am a woman, I deserve just as much as any other person on this world." Not more, not less, not better, not worse. Equal to.

It's true. Everyone deserves equality. Unfortunately it's difficult. But this is what I think. If we hold the theology (the idea/belief) that everyone does deserves equality it might make it better. But as long as there are women out there who say " No, I am not a feminist" They are silently saying, " No I don't think I deserve as much, or actually I deserve more." Either way, I believe that saying no is harmful. Because it sets those seeds of inequality, it deepens those roots that have existed for so long. 

My feminism is based in theology, my religion. I believe that Heavenly Father made all of His children equal and that it's Satan planting the seeds of inequality that makes us think it can't work, it won't work. But really, Heavenly Father promised that it would. That peace will exist one day on the earth. This includes feminism. Equality of the sexes. 

Hope this helps anyones confusion and I hope you can proudly declare that you are a feminist.

p.s. ANYONE can be a feminist (you don't have to be a girl)

So...are you a feminist?

Things I love.

Oh I love doing these posts...does that count as one thing? haha I love thinking really hard and taking the time to look around me and realize how much I prefer certain things. I will also include some things that I strongly dislike (my mom taught me to say that instead of hate because hate is a strong word).

1. the smell of lilacs. Its like heaven. I just keep trying to breath it in.

2. chicken. It's my all time favorite protein. The best part about it is that you can do so much with it. It absorbs so many flavors and is just so juicy and yummy.

3. flip flops. It's hard to wear them in Seattle because of the rain sometimes but thats ok.

4. hugs from little kids, they are so much more genuine.

5. old navy. I got this PERFECT white button down shirt. It's not too tight, not too loose. In the past week I have worn it twice. 

6. Cheesecake. Especially when its chocolate.

7. blueberries. I love that each one has its own unique flavor. Maybe a little tart, juicy, overripe. Yum....

8. starting a good book. In the past week I have read 5 books. I have too much time on my hands really.

9. my husbands attempts to rationalize my thoughts. It's so cute. Sometimes I like to act a little crazy and dramatic to see how he reacts.

10. feet in warm sand.

Things I strongly dislike. (I am not going to attempt to think of ten because it might make me seem crazy)

1. walnuts. they are the most disgusting nut. No one should ever use them. We should let them go extinct. Seriously.

2. nuts in baked goods. Why would you ruin a good muffin, cookie, brownie by putting something crunchy into soft goodness. Why? 

3. waiting to eat at a restaurant. It's so silly. Especially when you walk to the bathroom while waiting and see all these empty tables. Dude? What the heck. What's the holdup?

4. Knowing other people are traveling to exciting or exotic places that you have always wanted to go to. Then they post pictures and you look at ALL of them and imagine you are there. But it's just not the same. I wish traveling was free. Wouldn't that bring more world peace? Probably would make it more possible for drugs, sex, and war to spread. Maybe they could just let nice people travel for free. Like you do a good dead and get frequent flyer miles. That would be awesome.