Quarter of a century...

That how old I am today.  A quarter of a century.

Interestingly, I don't seem to have that anxiety many people seem to about getting older.  Maybe it's because I'm only 25, but I'd like to think it's because I'm living life to the fullest.  Why regret the future if so far my life has been so full and rewarding?

Thank you to all of my friends and family for your love and support.  I would not be the same person without you all.  Thank you readers for your support as well. :)

For my birthday we went to Frankies Sat. night, and italian restaurant on the eastside.  Afterwards, I got a hand blender (one of those awesome new ones), pyrex dishes (love those), and Ann Taylor pants (AT is pretty much awesome).  We all came home and ate blueberry cheesecake.  It was a good day.

Yesterday, hubby and I went out shopping and he bought me a skirt and top that are really cute.  I'll see if I can't snag a picture when its warm enough to wear them.  I also bought some socks.  They're pretty essential you know. ;)

On other news, I desperately want another kitty.  If I had my way, I get one today, but I doubt the pet adoption centers would approve of me getting one so soon after my last kitty died.  It's not that I'm desperate to replace Milan, it's just that we have always had a kitty (practically) from the moment we moved in for our first apartment.  Our apartment feels so uncharacteristically empty now and I have so much love to give...

I have promised myself to wait until April 14 before I start looking.  There's a kitty get-together for adoptions that day in the area.  We'll see how well I keep to my promise...

Love to you all!

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read: Mockingjay
taste: nothing yet, must rummage after this quick post
see: all of the wonderful posts on my fb page with birthday wishes. :)
hear: the "beep, beep" of the clock ticking on hubby's show "24"
smell: hmmmm, nothing much?  
touch: my fav. stretch pants.  They're so comfy.
think: kitties!
feel:  happy
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Goodbye Milan

Early this morning, we said goodbye to our kitty.  

We noticed yesterday after I go home from work that she was acting distressed.  It was her lil song and dance for a furball, we thought, and gave her some time to cough it up.  I tried feeding her treats that help with this, but she refused.  I got a few bits down her, much to her annoyance.  I gave up and just watched her.  She'd sit there without moving and then I noticed her breathing wasn't normal this time.  It was the last straw when she raced across the room to pee (yowling in distress, not sure if it was pain or not) and didn't quite make it.  

I packed her up in her carrier and took her to the vet.  She was becoming less responsive.  They did initial tests, x-rays, and nothing showed what she was going through.  The vet suggested blood tests and I agreed.  While taking her blood, they found her bp was 240.  They realized that this was probably a stroke that she was going through.  They gave her bp meds, but which take a long time to take effect.  She was even less responsive now, but there really wasn't much they could do till the blood tests came back from the lab the next morning.   They told me to prepare myself for the worst. I took her home and made sure she was warm and comfortable.  We said our goodbyes and then I waited.  She was deteriorating pretty fast, yowling weirdly, little twitches, labored breathing, but just laying there unable to move.  I knew this was it and hoped it would be fast.

She started to seizure a little more forcefully and I called the vet to bring her in again (they said to if she seizured).  Only a little over an hour had passed since I'd brought her home.  I put her in her carrier and she seizured pretty big a couple of times.  We headed out the door and all was quiet when I put her in the car.  I knew then that she had passed away.  I was afraid to look.  Thank goodness the emergency vet is close.  I walked in in tears and they took her away.  I saw her and its amazing how one look can confirm that she had passed away.  It was almost 1am. We had her cremated and they took a clay print of her paw for me.  

It was so incredibly quick.  I was thankful that I had canceled my sub job for the next day so I could sleep in (as best I could).  Within 9 hours of symptoms, she had died.  She had pain meds as well, but since it was brain hemorrage that she was struggling with, she wouldn't have felt pain anyway.

Our kitty has had mild neurological issues before, mild, unresponsive times (just a few seconds at a time) before, or weird moments of distressed yowling for no apparent reason.  It was never enough to cause any alarm.  We just thought it was kind of silly/annoying. We also found out that she's actually borderline elderly and that she most likely had hypertension the last several years.  When her bp would go up too much, she'd act just a tiny bit weird, I think.  Yesterday, it sky-rocketed and bp medication was either too late or simply ineffective once stroke set in and the bleeding on the brain continued.  Since she had died before the blood tests were analyzed, we just skipped it, so I suppose we don't know for SURE what happened, but its a pretty good guess.

It was a very long hard night for me.  Micah was trying to sleep because he had work the next day, but he's been my rock through this.  He got off work early and bought me orchids and made me food.  This weekend I go to Brinnon with my family and it will be a nice escape.

Milan was our cuddlebug.  She was always up for hugs, kisses, loves, and naps with you.  She LOVED her "peoples" and she loved attention.  She will always have a special place in our hearts. We will always treasure the almost year and a half that we had with her.

Ms. Feminist Teacher

Continuing a reader's question here:
This is from Jacquelineand... (her blog is here, if you want to check it out).

"So, questions, per your request on your last blog...what led you to teaching, what aspect(s) of teaching are you most passionate about and how does it tie in with your feminism, if it does."


I already answered the first two questions here.  This post is to discuss how my feminism ties into my teaching.


Ok.  So for those who don't know, I'm a feminist.  I believe in women's rights and in women receiving equal dignity and rights as men.  This is not yet a reality, hence why feminism is still very necessary.  Probably the most glaring inequalities is the amount that women are paid for the same work as men and the lack of female representation in politics and in business leadership (top 500 corporations are led by less than 2% women I believe...).  I won't go into detail too much about why I'm feminist here.  But I will add, that I am not just a feminist.  I am against oppression of all forms.  Against men, children, people of different class or race, etc.  No one should be discriminated against for who they are.  I am an LGBTIQ ally, against child abuse or neglect of any form, against legislated discrimination, etc.  I'm still learning more about oppression and what I can do to eliminate it.  This will be a lifelong journey for me.


This question only asks about my feminism and teaching.  So here we go.  As a teacher, I do not believe that it is my job to share my beliefs.  My job is to help prepare young people to be positively contributing citizens.  Young people need to be taught to think for themselves, especially in a world where the young are simply told what to believe.  I always present the facts, and then guide my students to choose their own beliefs based on the facts, reminding them that facts can change.  I encourage them to choose a belief that is non-destructive to others.  This is done very subtly and not very often, as most of the time in language class these sorts of issues simply aren't brought up.  The large majority of the time we're immersed in conjugations, vocabulary, and grammar. : )  I tend to drop facts and statistics as I go along that I think will better inform them of the realities of this world.  As a feminist, I do NOT tolerate any comments that are derogatory about the female gender between my students.  I immediately take action and have a discussion if I EVER hear some boy call another boy a "pansy", a "girl", or "like a girl" in a derogatory manner.  I address my students as ladies and gentleman and not "guys".  I keep them abreast of all the feminist happenings in France and other francophone countries.  (More recently, some towns in France have completely dropped the "mademoiselle" title and started calling all women "madame", regardless of age or marital status.  The French language has no equivalent to "Ms." and therefore, no marital-neutral title.  They also didn't think it was fair to distinguish between whether or not a female is married when males are not identified at all by marital status, something we continue to do in the English language.)  I make sure to NEVER discourage a student from ANY profession or life goal REGARDLESS of their age, race, size, ANYTHING.  STUDENTS can do any job/career they put their minds to.  I encourage empathetic behavior in all my students, especially those that need more practice with it.  I state at the beginning of class that no one should ever be made fun of because of gender (and orientation, race, or just being different).  I make sure my class knows that I have a 0% tolerance for bullying of any form.  I also wear my "I stand with planned parenthood" pin and make sure that my students can get the contact info for planned parenthood/information on the facts of sexuality for whoever they think might need it.  Here in WA state there is a comprehensive sex ed program, so I think they're mainly good in this area.


I also like to get to know each of my students individually and encourage them in areas where they might not otherwise get encouragement.  I try to build them all up and to treat them all as respected students, not as girls vs. boys.  I remind all of them to not sell themselves short.


I think that teaching biology would present more opportunities to encourage my female students.  If I get a job teaching biology, it should be interesting to see what I'll be able to do to expand my students' horizons about feminist issues.


Let me know if any of you have any more questions for me.  I love answering them. :)

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read: not much the last couple days.  
taste:  hubby's fried-egg sandwich
see:  the Colbert Report, so funny!
hear: see above
smell: my new Castile Soap peppermint shampoo
touch: my fuzzy blanket.  So chilly today.
think: that watching the formula 1 race with my sister and bro-in-law tonight should be fun.
feel:  annoyed at all the legistlatures passing ridiculous laws in various states...
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Ms. Teacher...how did that happen?

So in my previous post, one of my followers asked a question that I've attempted to answer (most of).  This is from Jacquelineand... (her blog is here, if you want to check it out).

"So, questions, per your request on your last blog...what led you to teaching, what aspect(s) of teaching are you most passionate about and how does it tie in with your feminism, if it does."

Teaching.  When I was in grade school I went through a phase where I said I wanted to be a teacher.  I did no dilly-dallying with being an astronaut or doctor or what have you.  I thought teaching was the most awesome job in the world.  This may have been because I was privileged to have several very great grade school teachers who inspired me and all of my teachers were kind and helpful.  Though, I’m not really positive.  It just seemed like a fun job.

Then I hit high school.  Suddenly teaching just seemed like a ton of work with little benefit.  My teachers in high school were fine.  I had a few boring ones, maybe one or two that got on my nerves, but that’s all.  I think I finally started to realize just how time-consuming it was, and in high school you get more glimpses of the reality of being a teacher.

So, I was off to college, unsure what to do, but pretty sure it wouldn’t be teaching.  I laugh now in retrospect.  I did that first year of generals and found I had a propensity for learning language, especially grammar.  With relatively little effort, I understand the basics of the language and could memorize vocabulary very easily (though only short term memory…my long term memory is quite average, sadly).  I decided to go off to France to have an adventure.  I got into the intermediate class, did very little and got As (This is not unusual for me.  Science and Math are slightly more difficult, but the arts, piece of cake).  I suddenly came to the realization that I was good enough at it, that I could teach it, and to me, this was a lovely challenge.  I needed something to do with a French major, so I determined I’d make my undergrad as useful as possible.  I headed home and got a minor in biology and did a Masters in Teaching program to endorse both.

Teaching continues to be a challenge, not a challenge in the sense that its extremely difficult, but it’s not boring like many other jobs would be for me.  I have a voracious mind that loves to learn.  I read constantly and love new ideas.  Teaching, despite the disadvantages, is the perfect medium to enhance one’s own learning while helping others to learn.

There you go.  This is how I was led to become a teacher.  Many ask why I paired French and Biology and I always say “I’m good at both, why not?”, so in case you were wondering…

What I’m passionate the most about is not necessarily my subjects.  I’m VERY passionate about certain aspects of my subjects and I like the subjects I teach, but they are not my passion.  My passion is and always has been to help someone understand something they did not before and to help others expand their knowledge and their own thinking capabilities.  This can be done in any subject, so I just picked two that I liked.  Believe me, there a so many other subjects I could’ve picked instead that I would love to teach equally.  I love tackling the controversial topics within each of my subjects and to plant new ideas in my student’s heads.  I love it when they come up with a new approach to a problem that I didn’t think of.  I love seeing the wheels turning upstairs.  I love making them second-guess the things they had always been told were true.  :P  And, I’m passionate about high school age kids.  They are the cream of the crop, imo.  They are just starting to become adults.  They have so much passion and life, if only we could tap into it.  They love and hate so easily, which makes teaching the exact opposite of boring.  Their problems are so fascinating and I have this burning desire to help them make the transition to adulthood smoother.  They are so much easier to reason with and they get my weird jokes.  I LOVE teenagers!

I will have to leave the rest of the question to another post since this is getting quite long.  More to come!

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read: still Cold Fire.  I'm taking my time with this one.
taste: Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mints. I think they're gone now.
see: Sims 3, was playing this for a couple hours this evening.
hear: Sims 3 theme music.  It's pretty catchy. ;)
smell: Hmmm, not much?
touch: my warm fuzzy blanket wrapped around me. (We try to limit our electricity)
think: That my hubby and I have got it pretty good.  Much better than some that's for sure. 
feel:  content and a lil sleepy.
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A review of the Twilight book series

Warning, if you have not read the series, this post will not make much sense. :P

I had decided a few weeks ago that I should probably read the entire series of Twilight through before judging.  Many people do not think the story is a very uplifting story for girls to read. 

And now that I've read it, some parts I agree with.  Bella as a character in the first 3 books seems to only have a claim to fame for hurting herself or getting herself into painful situations.  Granted, this isn't really her fault most of the time, but its not a very uplifting picture.  She seems to have so little control over her own life, which is very frustrating for her and the reader.  She's at the mercy of those stronger than her.  This is simply the world in which she has been placed and since she cannot revile her budding love and friendship with an outcast species, she continues to try and make do with what she's given.

The only thing in the first 3 books that annoyed me was her little matyr complex.  Anytime Edward or Jacob got hurt due to the love triangle between them and Bella, she blames herself entirely.  She thinks its utterly and completely her fault that these two guys fell in love with her and keep getting themselves into messes because of it.  She doesn't seem to realize that its THEIR fault for choosing to fight over her that makes all their lives difficult.  It's their actions that are to blame.  This annoyed me greatly.  One redeeming quality of hers is the ability to look past outward appearance to the heart within.  She accepts Jacob and Edward for who they are inside.

But now on to Book 4.  Bella goes through the rigours of an accelerated and painful pregnancy that required and emergency C-section.  She was able to choose to have her baby (just as every woman deserves the right to choose), regardless of the thoughts and opinions of those around her.  And then Bella, FINALLY, becomes a new species herself ;).  And, THATS where the entire story begins to redeem itself. She becomes an agent of her own life.  She is at the mercy of no one.  She shares an equal and loving relationship with Edward and she surpasses everyone's expectations marvelously.  She has a superb control over her new self and her compassion becomes a weapon for justice unlike so many others of her species.  She exemplifies the ultimate ability to love and bond with others of all species, human, shapeshifter, and vampire alike. 

She becomes the hero of the day but besting those who underestimated her.  She has her own spectacularly special ability that is just right for her personality.  She can now keep people from harming those she loves and even from harming each other.

Perhaps the author wanted us to wade through all the muck in order to finally reach the good part.  Who knows?

Because of the way that this series ends, I would give it an 7.5 out of 10.  The writing was not spectacularily witty or educated, but the story-line was very interesting and entertaining.  Can it compare to Harry Potter.  No, it cannot.  HP gets an 11 out of 10 and I think will always remain my favorite book series of all time.

Now on to The Hunger Games.  I am waiting for it at the library.  It promises to be even better than Twilight so I'm looking forward to it. :)

So, did any of my other readers read Twilight and want to weigh in?  Feel free to do so.

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read: Cold fire (part of the cold magic series.  It's been good so far, but a little slow and not as riveting.  Also, I must wait till the author finishes the series...*sigh*)
taste: Peanut Butter and Honey on an English Muffin.
see: an overcast day
hear: Micah and his BF talking "terraria". :P
smell: our new citrus candle.  Love it.  For some reason, it makes the apartment smell like raspberries when you walk in the door.
touch: my hair, as per usual
think: about seeing Jes tonight in Seattle.
feel:  a lil sleepy.  Which makes no sense since we went to be early and slept in...:P
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Kony 2012

The leader of the LRA needs to be found and held responsible for his crimes against humanity.  No child should ever have to live in fear of abduction, death, and being forced to murder others.

This video explains.  Please, I encourage all of you to watch this and share.
As a BIG caveat, this charity has not yet shown that it actually sends more than 31% of all donations to its supposed cause.  Like most charities, its out there for money mostly. :(  BUT, even though I did not donate for this reason, I think its still good to be aware of this issue and share the video.

I haven't been blogging much lately.  If there's anything you'd like me to blog about or any questions for me, I'd love ideas.  Just email or comment.


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read: Twilight (I will do a review of what I think of the series, since it's such a hot topic these days)
taste: English Breakfast Tea
see: The video above.
hear: see above
smell: Micah's toast
touch: I tried salvaging some chapstick that got put through the laundry and ended up getting some on my hands.  They are now kinda waxy feeling, but I figure its good for hands, not just lips right? It was Burt's Bees too, so I can't let that go to waste.
think: That its a crazy crazy world we live in, where we can connect around the world.  This is truly a completely new age we're living in.
feel:  decently content :)   via