6 Weird Things

I have no idea what "tagged" means if it's not said on the playground, but I think this might be it.

1) I eat my cereal in a bowl, with a spoon, but no milk. Robert is pretty sure that it's a waste of a clean bowl and spoon. I think he believes I should eat it like potato chips or something.

2) If it were socially acceptable, I would be happy to eat ice cream for every meal.

3) Sometimes I will go a whole 10 hour work day without speaking. I kind of like it.

4) On more than one occassion (think maybe 10-12) I have shopped for myself for major gift-giving events, the gift-giver wraps the gift, gives to me, and then I return it to the store. I can't even explain it myself.

5) I secretly wish all of our plates were compartmentalized for each different food item, with a different utensil for each item as well.

6) One of my life's goals is to go to a Wal-Mart in every state. So far: Alaska, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia. We have almost missed a flight home, and actually driven to a different state for the sole purpose of a Wal-Mart purchase.

My favorite season is

Football.

Did I ever mention that? The Playoffs are happening now, so I am pretty much consumed on the weekends. GO COLTS! We won today!!!!!

That is all.

UPDATE (3/12): Since I figured out how to upload pictures...Here is me at the Colts game on New Year's Eve. Go Colts! SuperBowl Champs!

New Year, New (?) Me

I decided that I want to be more organized. In my home of course, and in my life in general. You might ask, how will you go about this? How ever will you get started? Well, the most obvious answer is to start with your photo albums. That's right, in my quest to get organized, I pulled out all of our old photos and negatives, bought new albums with my Christmas gift cards, and generally am taking up the entire living room floor making it more cluttered than it was before! What is wrong with me? Why would I start with photo albums? You know, the things you pull out once, twice, maybe three times a year? Why not start with the 791 pairs of shoes that I have, don't wear, and can't close the closet because of? I have no idea. But, it is definitely just like me, so not really new at all. Oh well, I am trying. That counts for something, right? I hope so.

I also decided (for the umpteenth time) that I am going to lose weight and be in better shape. So, I do not plan for this to turn into a weight-loss blog, but I might mention it, cause that's part of what's going on with me. You've been warned.

School starts back next week, so I will try to post more regularly than I did at the end of last semester. My life seemed to get away from me there for about a month. Even when I wasn't working on school work, I still felt like I needed to be, so I couldn't really justify spending any time blogging. I have decided that I will graduate in August instead of May, and I am trying to make myself okay with that. I feel like I have failed somehow, but I just need to get over my pride. That's a big thing for me, I think. I will try to work on that this year as well. But I am NOT calling them resolutions, because I don't have enough strength to resolve to do anything. I am going to try my best, lean on Jesus, and know that I will end up better in the long run if I am at least trying to make changes in my life.

Okay, that's my update.

Mommy Wars

This is the topic of the book that I am reading for my Sociology of the Family class this week. It's really good. I feel like the author is putting down in words all the thoughts in my head. She says that the "Mommy Wars" as we know it (working vs. stay-at-home moms) is not really where our country needs to place its emphasis. Every mom in each of those situations is simply doing what is best for her family at that point in time, and if we really want to have a discussion about working moms and SAHMs then we need to look at the structure of our workplace.

This is a timely book for me to read because I am nearing graduation with my Master's and contemplating applying to a PhD program. But, I think that I want to be a mom someday, so I often question "is it worth it?" "Can I be a working PhD and the type of mom that I want to be?" "What is the point of going through all that work if I am going to stay home with the chittlins'?" "Do I really want to pay someone else to raise my children?" These are the questions that I ask myself from time to time.

Most often, my feelings are primarily expressed as anger. I am angry that this is a choice I have to make. Angry that these are my only two options. My mother, who always told me that I could do anything, now says that I can't have it all and I will eventually have to choose one or the other. I hear the same thing from other mothers as well, and I know it's true.

Sure, there are some moms who do both, but not entirely. No one, no matter how capable, can fully serve the two greedy institutions of parenthood and the labor market. Reading this book helped me understand just what it is that I'm mad at I guess, or where exactly my anger should be placed. I am mad at the structure of work, that it leaves parents little to no options for caring for their young children. I mean, if we are going to commit 40-45 years to the workforce, can't we get a break for 1-2 years to care for our babies, or our parents when they need us most?

I know this is rambly (is that a word?) and quite possibly incoherent, but its something that I'm struggling with and really trying to understand. I know that He has a plan for me, a plan that might include trying to get my doctorate, being a mommy, both, or neither. Trying to figure out what that plan is is the hard part.

Weakness

Over the weekend we watched the movie "Signs" which just might be one of my favorite (scary) movies ever. I like it because it's not gory or anything but suspenseful and really makes you think. There is one part where Mel Gibson is talking about the 2 kinds of people in the world. 1) the kind that believes in miracles or signs and that someone is looking out for them--these people have hope, and 2) the kind that believes that what they see is all there is and so they must depend only on themselves--these people are filled with fear.

This thought came to me again during our Bible study this week. (We're doing "When Worldviews Collide" by Ergun Caner). Sometimes you hear about Christianity being a "crutch" for weak people, as if we rely on our faith because we can't handle things without it. I thought of the 2 types of people from the movie and realized that I would never want to be a person that doesn't believe in something bigger, because then I would have to rely on myself, and I mess up everyday. I really couldn't handle my life on my own (and truly no one can, some just realize this and others don't); I can't imagine my life without the hope that I have in Christ.

So if my crutch is my sweet Savior, who also happens to be the Creator of the Universe--then I will gladly be called weak. Being weak is so much better than the alternative.

My Nerdy Life

Here's an e-mail conversation that Robert and I just had.

Robert:
/*+/*+/*+/*+/*+/*+/*+r 4t0p5er g+e+ 0712e+bho[adfighaopdfigjadn [giojqre0[ u35 25i- tjrt/

Rachel:
Nomenclaturally speaking, operating mass spectrometry instrumentations can often be prohibitively expensive since it must be done en vacuo.

Robert:
your paucity is appauling.

Rachel:
so was the way you spelled that word :)

~~~~~~
Also, Monday he came home from work and tenderly told me that yes, he did have my favorite food on Earth for lunch that day (Papa John's). This sparked my interest because he's not a pizza fan(atic) like me. The following conversation ensues:

Me: Why did you have that?
R: well mass spectrometers are pressurized and must therefore be run en vacuo--in a vaccuum
Me: WHAT?!? I just want to know why you had pizza today instead of the lunch you took with you?
R: wait--I'm getting there...so these vacuums are very loud, but are essential for blah blah blah.......... (basically we got new tables for the instruments and had been moving stuff all day, so boss paid for lunch)

aaahhh...classic R&R

Flying Pigs

So I finally did it, I got a blog. I think the next step will be finding people who actually want to read it. That will likely prove to be more difficult.