Blessed

I am just so very blessed I can hardly contain it! My business is growing nicely (I was afraid January would be a drop from December, but my month total to date is already more than December's total) and I adore being my own boss (I'm really nice to myself): I'm eating well and exercising and very happy about it; I have more energy; I have grandkids just around the corner and get lots of good visiting time with Erin and sometimes Nate; I'm sleeping well; I get to spend time with Suzie & Matt in two weeks in lovely, temperate San Francisco; Zan just found out she's got the fellowship in DC after graduation that she wanted so much; and I just figured out how to sew in an invisible zipper and make it look good! Wahoo! God is good. :)

Oh, and I love being surrounded by fabric and working with it every day.

Reading Update

I've started on the readings Zan sent me. The first one is called A Neural Basis for Social Cooperation. Let me know if you'd like to read along with me; it will be super fun, or at least enlightening.

I need a quick break

 . . . so I'm going to write for a few minutes.

On Monday of this week I started a new food plan (I don't use the word diet because it implies temporariness) that is already making me feel better: The 17-Day Diet. I already have more energy and my blood pressure has been a bit lower this week, plus I'm losing weight; what a great combo! Now the challenge is to find enough different ways to cook chicken and eggs and fish to keep me from getting bored. Thanks tons to MDF Marilee Durrant for sharing this food plan with me. :)

I'm busily preparing for the Valentine's Oh Sweet Sadie boutique. This time I'm redesigning my booth and am super excited to work on my ideas next week. I bought 2"x 6" white grid wall and plan to use lots of burlap (Erin found a huge bolt at a yard sale!) and giant paper flowers, plus arrange things by fabric rather than by type (ironing board cover, pillow cover, etc.). I really want it to have a strong visual impact both from a distance and close up.

This morning I asked Erin if she'd do freelance work for me, preparing items for shipping and I'm super excited that she said, "yes"! Even though I'm not yet making enough to totally support myself, I'm realizing that my time could generate more income by developing and posting new products rather than doing the shipping. I'm curious to see how it goes. I'm also planning to ask that same amazing MDF Marilee if she has time to do some of the sewing in prep for the boutique so I can have a nice full booth while still having time to redesign the booth. Wish me luck!

Ten minutes of thoughts

I'm a bit backed up on orders after the holidays (a good problem) so I'm giving myself just ten minutes to write about what's up and what's on my mind.

First, I'm a bit overwhelmed and sobered and excited all at the same time about what I learned when I attended/observed 2 days of a short-term class at Harvard for which Zan is CAing (course assistant--same thing as a TA--teaching assistant). I don't know the course name; the topic--the portion I heard--was about including women in governmental and community strategy and planning following war. I had the privilege, the honor, to sit with and meet and hear the stories of women from all around the globe who have experienced war and its aftereffects personally. The professor, Swanee Hunt, was the US ambassador to Austria during the time of the Bosnian war and was directly and personally involved in observing, negotiating, etc.

I haven't yet read the course materials, but I was able to listen to the lectures and discussions and watch two movies about the Bosnian war--one a documentary, I Came to Testify, about the women who came to The Hague to testify regarding the systematic rape of women as a weapon of war (for the first time rape was recognized and prosecuted as a war crime), the other a soon-to-be-released feature film, In the Land of Blood and Honey, also about rape in the Bosnian war written and produced by Angelina Jolie.

None of what I heard and saw was easy to hear or see. I've been extremely sheltered, and have sheltered myself, from what is happening today in other parts of the world. I've been comfortable being apolitical, excusing myself on the grounds that knowing bad things gives me anxiety and on the false belief that all politicians and politics are corrupt and that there's really nothing I can do to change anything.

I no longer believe that and I'm committed to following whatever path God takes me on to help make the world better. My first step is to educate myself about the recent and current situation of women in war ravaged areas in the world and about women in politics. I'm going to start with Zan's course reading and go from there. I also want to find a handful of other people who would like to read and discuss and research with me, people with a variety of experiences and opinions so we can debate and challenge each other.

Time's up, in fact I took an extra 10 minutes. Thinking takes time. :)