Give it some thought

I was perusing through some old diary entries and I ran across an entry I wrote while reading Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Love, Pray" (highly recommend it). One section centered around 2 questions that I challenged myself to answer. I challenge you to give them some thought. I think answering these questions helped me put some perspective to where I was in life and what things I still needed to accomplish to be completely fulfilled.

1) What do I believe I deserve in this life?
love, happiness, contentment, romance, children, piece of mind, true friendships, financial freedom, spiritual well-being, fun, freedom to travel, the ability to speak up for myself, independence, a clear conscience, a healthy weight, healthy hair, a church home that feels like home, a faithful, loving and attentive husband.


2)Where can I accept sacrifice?
Do I have to accept sacrifice? Says who? My list of things I cannot sacrifice will probably be much longer. Why do I have to sacrifice anything? I've already sacrificed my comfort zone time and time again. I sacrificed my health, sanity and dignity to obtain my PhD. I sacrificed simple carbohydrates for a lifetime of Atkins. I've sacrifice hot summers and beaches you can swim at for a career in WA. I sacrificed my chance at science superstardom by choosing the wrong grad research advisor. Oh, the list could go on!

Where I cannot accept sacrifice is in the things that make me inherently happy: my connection with The Divine, taking care of myself mentally and physically, learning to be fiscally responsible, loving with everything I've got, and the ability to live my life freely in a way that makes me want to celebrate being me.

Having thought these things through. The real question is: Now what am I gonna do about it?

Just a little something for dessert

My new friends at the downtown Charlotte Amelie, St. Thomas fire station ;)

SWS

Hello. My name is Dr. Fuller and I am here to talk to you about a serious epidemic - SWS, Suburban Wife Syndrome.

For years, SWS has been silently and methodically killing the social lives of fabulous women everywhere.

Here, in out private, super-scientific laboratories, we have been working diligently to solve the problem of SWS. Though we have not found a cure, we have made it our mission to spread awareness of this dreadful disease.

SWS most often afflicts married women who are beautiful and have previous histories of having lots of fun, being charismatic and social butterflies. Women who had a socially active college life are particularly vulnerable to SWS.

Are you, or someone that you know, suffering from SWS? Symptoms are: lack of social obligations, decreased desire to shop at Express and a cell phone that never rings after 8pm.

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with SES, rest assured that we are working on a cure! In the meantime, we advise a treatment of reconnection with college girlfriends, meeting new active girlfriends and a once-weekly trip to your local happy hour.

Treatment works!

I'm back!

to the blogosphere, only to leave again in a few days. Hubby and I are heading to warmer climates for a much needed vacation. Do you know that we haven't had a real vacation since our honeymoon in 2006! So, I'm happy to say that on Tuesday, October 21, we will celebrate our second year of marriage in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. Hallelujah.

Speaking of marriages...I want to say a big CONGRATS! to my blog friend Nilsa

who will join the "Married Ladies Club" this coming weekend. And wish a very happy anniversary to my brotha-from-anotha-motha, D who has made the one-year mark with his fantastic wife, Tif.

Ah, love is in the air.

So, here's the deal. I'll go back to old fashioned pen and paper journaling on the cruise, then play catch up with you when I get back.

Wish me bon voyage!

Karla

PS - Did McCain confuse autism with Down's Syndrome, not once, but twice during last night's debate? Or was he trying to make a more global point about special need's education? I vote for the former.

Rednecks for Obama

I couldn't resist...you just don't see this stuff everyday. Gives me a bit of hope for America, after all...

Thanks to http://wearerespectablenegroes.blogspot.com/ for the post.



Tony Viessman, 74, and Les Spencer, 60, got politically active last year when it occurred to them there must be other lower income, rural, beer-drinking, gun-loving, NASCAR race enthusiasts fed up with business as usual in Washington.

"We need to build the economy from the bottom up, none of this trickle down business," Spencer said. "Just because you're white and southern don't mean you have to vote Republican."

Racism "has softened up some, but it's still there," Viessman acknowledged from Belmont University, site of Tuesday's McCain-Obama debate in Nashville, Tennessee.

Surely [Obama] alienated many rural voters earlier this year when the Harvard-educated senator told a fundraiser that some blue-collar voters "cling to guns or religion".

But Viessman, who says he owns a dozen guns, said Obama "ain't gonna take your guns away."

Viessman says he'd like to think his grassroots movement could sway enough people in small-town America to make a difference.

"There's lots of other rednecks for Obama too," he said. "And the ones that's not, we're trying our best to convince them."

Chess Club Showdown

One of our chemistry professors is an advisor to a local elementary school Chess Club. This is a pretty hard-core group of kindergarten through 3rd grade chess enthusiasts. Well, they recently challened astronoaut Greg Chamitoff (who is currently hanging out at the international space station) to a game of chess. He has answered their challenge with a YouTube video and made the next move.

Well, I couldn't leave it at that. This is World Space Week, and I am in charge of science outreach at my college - so I sponsored a live satellite feed between the space station and our college. The kids will be here in an hour to make the next move live and in real-time (well, technically, Chamitoff is in the "future"), and have a chance to ask Chamitoff some questions about living and working in space.

I couldn't be more proud of these kids, the chem professor. And I didn't do so bad myself. Because I have effectively connected my college to NASA on a strictly goodwill mission, which has resulted in local and national media coverage. And who doesn't need a feelgood story in these terrible times.

After the jump...

One of my favorite blogs has a slew of cool posts and videos in the last couple of days regarding the issues surrounding the upcoming elections. Its too much for me to jack, so check it out after the jump.

Aside: I don't know what role Benicio del Toro is preparing for, but his serial-killer looks in the "Don't Vote" spot have made me fall in love with him all over again.