OK, This is Joy

When the lights go down in the city And the sun shines on the bay I want to be there in my city Ooh, ooh So you think you're lonely Well my friend I'm lonely too I want to get back to my city by the bay Ooh, ooh It's sad, oh there's been mornings out on the road without you,Without your charms,Ooh, my, my, my

Joy is sitting on your Amish-made kitchen chair eating a cookie your husband made and watching him dance with your daughter to "Lights" by Journey, the song you slow-danced with him so many times while dating. Those late nights and painfully long goodbyes while we were single have finally paid off. Of course I was enjoying it too much to take a picture.

Essential Quote

Why I think women should enjoy full inclusion in ALL aspects of life, service, and authority:

Nothing strengthens the judgement and quickens the conscience like individual liberty. Nothing adds such dignity to character as the recognition of one's self-sovereignty; the right to an equal place, everywhere conceded--a place earned by personal merit, not an artificial attainment by inheritance, wealth, family and position. Conceding then, that the responsibilities of life rest equally on man and woman, that their destiny is the same, they need the same preparation for time and eternity. The talk of sheltering woman from the fierce storms of life is the sheerest mockery, for they beat on her from every point of the compass, just as they do on man, and with more fatal results, for he has been trained to protect himself, to resist, and to conquer. Such are the facts in human experience, the responsibilities of individual sovereignty. --Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1892

Camping at Lake Texoma

Great food, weather, and company. Tents, Open Fires, S'mores, Capture the Flag, 4-wheelers, Dogs. The photos say it all. We had a great time. Thanks Becky for taking the pics! All who came: The Stonely's and their 4 children, The Miles's and their 3 girls, The Hall's and their 5 children, and The Campbell's with 2 children and 2 dogs.

My Heart Beats a Jig

Slainte! Ciamar a tha thu? Do you think St. Patrick minds I'm late in my celebrations this year? I was swimming in the mire of Academia and have finally emerged victorious with a finished paper for my Masters. Today, we are having corned beef and cabbage and listening to Sinead O'Connor, Carbon Leaf, Seven Nations, Dropkick Murphys, and of course MY band Gaelic Storm.

Come to Dallas again!

I wasn't totally neglectful though. The photos above are evidence of Ellery's attempts to catch "Shaun the Leprechaun." The first one with the little Irish dancer on top was the first try. He left a purple rock and note and thanked her for the pillows of cotton balls she left in the box to break his fall. Her next attempt was a much larger box propped up by a stick with a carrot tied to it. He got away again somehow and left her a $1.

If all goes well, maybe Soren and I will be blogging to you from Dublin in the fall. New Grange here I come!

FrumGirl

Here is a link to a couple of blogs I found concerning orthodox Jewish modesty and fashion. I research social constructions of modesty and how modern ultra-religious women navigate the world of fashion. The word Frum I think means religiously modest and Jews interpret that differently, from covering from knees to elbows, or from collar bone to wrist to ankle. Married women cover their hair as it is considered to be a private part that only the husband should see. Muslim and Fundamentalist Christians also have specific ideas about what dressing modestly entails. I found the comments to be very interesting:

http://semgirl.blogspot.com/2006/08/fashion-in-frum-world.html

http://jerusalicious.blogspot.com/2007/06/i-have-becomeuncomfortably-frum-sung-to.html

Good Morning

My kids loved this You Tube video. Try to find the waterskier behind the Lochness Monster.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z5jcFZQFRWA

Bodhi Before and After

Bodhi got his first haircut today. His adult coat came in and took over! Ciboney's hair (the black one) isn't as dense, wavy, nor cottony. I have a feeling Bodhi will not have his hair this long ever again butI will be happier when it grows out just a little bit. He looks like a poodle. The groomer told me to keep saying he looks pretty so he doesn't develope a complex. She said if I gave him negative vibes about his hair he would pick up on it and think he did something bad. Great, one more creature I need to worry about offending. Speaking of offending, I removed the naughty video, so my blog remains family friendly, pretty much.

Commencement Extravaganza

Today I paid for my cap and gown. Seventy dollars?!?! I'm bewildered. The only thing extravagant at the Commencement Extravaganza was the cost of my cap and gown. It better make me look fabulous. Do you know that I have never walked? In high school I was already showing horses, trying to qualify for Nationals when I missed my high school graduation. I was newly married, poor, already working and taking Interior Design classes at night in Vegas when I missed my college graduation.
I will miss TWU. The campus is pretty and I love the ethnic diversity there. It mixes up my whitebread world. University libraries and bookstores make me feel the Spirit. Can I say that? It is here that I learned so much about the past, about myself, about how I really don't know much at all. The one thing I have learned from my Masters degree is not to rely on just one book, one person, one ideology, or one agenda for wisdom. A holistic perspective comes from learning from dissimilarity, multiple realities, looking from the top down AND the bottom up. I have learned that how people see God and themselves is intricately connected. I have learned that the only fair way to judge someone is on their heart. I have learned that all women do not all have the same needs, that we are varied, multi-faceted, capable of the whole range of human behavior, and individual. How will we use what we have to offer? Will we spend our time trying to create others in our own image? Excluding those who are different? Or will we help God with the work and the glory of allowing each individual to shine as bright as possible? A community of whole persons, free to contribute the way they know best--maybe that's a little like the ever-elusive Zion we are supposed to build. Enough blabber, my kids are calling me to help them put their sheets on the beds. Earth to Heather.

Sweet Potato Soup

My friend Becky let me mooch some soup off her one night for my family. They really liked it so I am offering it to you. Let me know if you ever make it.


Southern Sweet Potato Soup

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced (about 2 pounds)
2 (14-oz) cans chicken broth
3 C chopped onion
2 celery ribs, chopped (about 1 C)
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ C water
1/3 C butter, melted
3 T creamy peanut butter
1 cinnamon stick
2 C milk w/a bit of sour cream
¾ t salt
1 T chopped fresh thyme
½ C whipping cream
1 ½ T molasses
1/8 t salt
1/8 t ground nutmeg
lime wedges
Garnish: chopped dry-roasted peanuts

Combine first 9 ingredients in a 5-quart slow cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW 7 hours or until potatoes are tender. Remove and discard cinnamon stick. Cool soup slightly.
Process soup, in batches, in a food processor until smooth.
Return soup to slow cooker. Add 2 C whipping cream, ¾ t salt, and thyme.
Cover and cook on HIGH 30 to 45 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Combine ½ C whipping cream, molasses, 1/8 t salt, nutmeg in a small bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Serve soup with whipped cream and a lime wedge; garnish, if desired. Makes 10 cups.

Once a Year

It snowed! Last night at 8:30pm we let the kids outside to play. Ciboney and Bodhi were running around with chandeliers of snow balls hanging from their leg fur and underbellies. Bodhi looked like he was trudging through peanut butter. Since Mom doesn't prefer carrots, Ellery found asparagus for the snowman's nose. The kids were hoping so badly that school would be closed today. When I found that they weren't, there was almost Mutiny on the Bounty. So, I let them stay home today till 10am. They are throwing snowballs at eachother (and the dogs) on the trampoline as we speak.

Ellery's gettin' jiggy at the Feis (say "fesh")

Michael Flatley, eat your heart out! Ellery had her first Irish Dance competition today. It was fun to see all the girls in their glitzy solo dresses doing their reels and jigs. Ellery is a beginner and has to earn her dress. I love looking at her little Ghillies (soft shoes). Her skirt had a row of blue embroidered triquetra knots. Lots of the girls wear pre-fab ringlet wigs to Feiseanna, but we just did the curler thing. I guess the idea is that after Sunday mass in Ireland when the girls were in their Sunday best with curled hair, they would have a Feis (dance party). We went au natural like any good Mormon girl pretending to be Catholic for a day would. There was even a showmom airbrushing a tan on her daughter's legs (yucchy!). The dancer list went something like this: Margaret Blackerby, Tara Bridgeman, Mary Crone, Ceara Daly, Liam Dhooghe, Kelly Donovan, Shannon Murray (You get the picture). Ellery did great winning several medals. Mostly we just had fun doing it and watching the dancers do their thing. Maybe next Feis, there will be pics of Mom too? (Hop 2 3 4 5 6 7)

Afterward we went on a Mom/daughter date to McDonald's and to buy her parakeets Ellery has been saving for. She chose an all yellow one and named him (?) Lemondrop. The white one with a bit of yellow on his (?) crest, blue belly, and black stripes on wings and cheeks is Kimono. I hope they last!