So yesterday I had an interesting experience. I was watching the news in the morning about the Pope resigning. I decided to some research about likely successors. It was interesting. Yada yada.

On a whim I posted on Facebook that I was researching successors, and added that my only disappointment was that they were all men. When I was researching I hadn’t even thought about it, it was just something that came into my head when I posted. And really, it isn’t that I don’t believe that women should be priests or popes, I just wasn’t being thoughtful when I made that post. Still, it was a harmless status update. Or so I thought.

Later in the day I had a few minutes to spare and checked my blog reader. I found a post by someone who is supposed to be my friend (although after reading the post I think I am more along the lines of a person who is friends with people I am friends with – friend by association?) We went to college together (a catholic, women’s college founded by some of the strongest women I know).

The post that I read was a response to my facebook post. It did not address me in particular, but it was posted 30 minutes after my post and although I might not have been the only person who caused this person to be so angry, I was definitely included in it.

It went on to say that women who are supposed to be catholic and well-educated should grow up. That I obviously wanted a penis because I believed women should be able to hold roles of leadership in the church. It said that women who want equality should just shut up because it will never happen. It said that women and men are not equal. It said that I must be teaching my daughter that femininity is wrong and that she should want to be a man. (Please know these things did not have my particular name associated with them, but were obvious statements about me and all of her other crazy feminist friends.)

This is crazy talk, I know. This is attacking another person for their beliefs. If someone has a different opinion than you it is perfectly OK to share your opinion and why you believe it. But to respond with attacks about that person that are so stupid and unfounded is ridiculous. It is not Christ-like. It is ignorant, mean, and uncaring. I am very certain most people associated with the catholic church would not want their name attached to the statements that this person made, even if they do support the church’s reasoning for women not allowed to be part of the clergy.

And to actually believe that a woman who supports a greater level of equality in the patriarchy of the catholic church must want a penis. Really? You can’t recognize that a woman can be a great leader and strong while still being feminine? It is 2013. I work full-time, raise two kids, keep a household, go to school, and still give time to my church and family. I am a strong woman. I love being a woman. I would never want anything else. I don’t need other people dragging me down because of their fears or ignorance.

And I do not take back what I said about women in the church. I believe if the catholic church wants to grow in the future that it needs to change. I might be a voice crying out in the darkness and changes might scare people. No worthy change was ever made without struggle and sacrifice.

As a first round of response I messaged the person directly and explained how I felt she should respond directly rather than writing disparaging things about people on her blog. Her response was that it was her blog and she could write whatever she wanted on it. I then responded that of course she can, but that not responding directly but posting on a venue separate was cowardice. And that attacking people because they believed different than you is not Christ-like.

OK – I shared my point of view, now on to the million things I need to do today.

Peace.

Sometimes we just need to be entertained during the mundane parts of life.

I wanted to get Zoe a Cartwheel mat for Christmas, but I didn’t order it in time.

A carthwheel mat is a guide for someone learning to do cartwheels with hands and feet placement marks to show them what to do.

Example Cartwheel Mat

The prices range from 35 – 90+ on various sites for the same thing, but it all seemed a little more than what we needed.

I had been eyeing the yoga mats at our gym. They have plain purple and they are 8 dollars. So I did a little research about how to paint or mark on yoga mats. From what I could tell, you can use acrylic paints or maybe fabric paints, but you could also use sharpie permanant markers. I had some left over silver sharpies from an ornament craft we did over the holidays.

You can try it out for yourself!

Materials

• Plain yoga mat
• Sharpie
• Acrylic paint (optional)
• Printable Transparencies (optional)
• Exacto knife (optional)

1. Print the stencil pages of a hand and foot on transparencies. You can download it here. I used transparencies and an Exacto knife to cut them out because I had them on hand, but I can see a piece of paper or card stock working just as well. Make sure to use a self healing mat when cutting them out with the Exacto knife.

Layout for mat

2. Measure the mat you purchased to see where the hands and feet best fit. I found the center and then moved out from there with the ruler. The width of all of the characters doesn’t have to be exact, but it should be evenly distributed and symmetrical.

3. Outline the hands with a Sharpie. Make sure the thumbs are facing into the center. Both hands are from the same stencil, you need only flip it over to get the other hand.

3. Measure out where to put the left set of feet. I chose about 7 inches from the bottom of the hand to the edge of the toe and about 6 inches from the top of the mat.

4. Outline the left set of feet. Remember the placement and slant of the second foot. I did this by comparing it to the edges of the mat.

5. Duplicate the same steps in the opposite placement for the right feet.

I don’t have a picture of the finished product, but I think you can see from the above picture what it looks like. Originally I was going to fill in hands and feet, but I really liked the clean look of the outline. I can see wanting to paint it with acrylic paint to make it all stand out. I did not do this, so I am not sure how it would turn out, but I did find sites that said acrylic paint should work fine on yoga mats.

Next weekend is Zoe’s birthday party so we will see what she thinks then!

I know there was an awesome Mommy-Blog about missing the sweetness of the little kids when they grow up.

I know I will. I already am afraid of missing the delicate way Charlie’s little body conforms to mine as we watch an episode of Spider Man. And the way I grab at his feet and tickle and kiss the soft soft skin.

But that isn’t what I am talking about here. (Just thinking of that makes me sad.)

What I wanted to contemplate is that I am beginning the last structured group project in my Master’s program. Everything else will be done solo. Working in groups is tough, add to that a full-time job and a family to keep going – and I always feel like I am the slacker. But then I felt like I end up going over and above time expectations to make up for my lack of availability during the normal working time.

Our project is to design something interactive for urban areas. We are focusing on collaborative urban play. And in the next few weeks I get do a lo-fi prototype for two concepts – a musical sidewalk and an interactive storytelling tool.

Getting my masters has not been easy. But, I know I will miss working on these projects when I am done.

How do you re-teach this?

Z has decided that is the best way to get her point across,

Anyway, we had a lovely weekend with warm weather and cloudless skies…

So I went to the doctor today to talk about options for losing weight. I mean I am working out and eating better, but I wanted to see what more I could do, like I said, with adi.pex. or something like that.

Turns out my doctor (whom I think is awesome, and trust completely) doesn’t prescribe it.

Bummer.

He wants to check my thyroid again. And my sugars. Maybe he will put me back on met.form.in. I have issues with his dosage of met.form.in. Anyway, we’ll see.

I’ll get the blood work done and go with what he says first. I’ll give him until January before I think about something else.

One day at a time….

I like to think that NaBlPoMo is a forgiving concept/activity.

I missed yesterday. I was at home with a whole bunch of sick people. Z promptly puked when I got home Tuesday night so I kept them home with me in the morning. C and I spent most of the day feeling yucky too – and then Nadie came home and slept the afternoon away after leaving sick from work.

I don’t feel great today, but I am at work. I am running out of vacation days. I don’t have anymore sick days. I thought they were supposed to get through most of these illnesses in the first few years of daycare. Coming on year four and we still find new ways to build up immunities! So pardon me while I turn green and run to the restroom. Ugh. I am just waiting for daycare to call and say that Charlie needs to go home. He probably shouldn’t be there, but Nadie couldn’t stay home, so he at least needed to show up and get his laptop. I took an extra set of clothes. I know that means I am probably a bad mom. Whatever.

One of those days I guess.

I did work out today though. I wasn’t quite awake until after the first twenty minutes. That is when I realized my stomach was not quite right. I felt like a mean green weightlifting machine. Ugh.

Oh and here is a picture of Z on the day we went to the pumpkin patch. We had just finished a very pleasant lunch (amazing with two toddlers) at a local eatery. She wanted me to take her picture (never happens). I am amazed at the quality since I took it with my phone.

Oh, so back to the title of this post ‘Slow change.’

There is a research group at school that is studying slow change. There is also a class called ‘rapid design for slow change’.

I think the idea of slow change and understanding that things usually don’t happen overnight is a great concept. I need to keep reminding myself that my battle with living healthier is a slow change. Little by little things will evolve. Have a great day.

Today I am thankful that as a mother I can clean up puke without throwing up. It isn’t that I love the puke, but for some reason it just doesn’t bother me. Love the child, not the puke. Right?

I voted today. I am anxious about the election results.

Starbucks gave out bracelets for people who voted.

And I have also established one of my new routines.
I mentioned that I have been trying to be healthier. I getting into the habit of being more active.
When I was going through classes for PCOS my doctor gave me a nutritional guideline and said that I should do mild cardio and lift weights regularly.
My morning routine is now something like this:

Walk .5 miles
Lift weights – I do a little bit of everything – Chest, Arms, Abs, Legs, etc.
Walk .5 miles

Instead of the treadmill I am using the track at my gym. It takes 15 laps to walk a mile, so I walk 7.5 laps, then lift, then walk another 7.5.
I know that I will need to up this workout eventually, but right now I am just getting into a rhythm. This is week three for me. I am using fitocracy to track my workouts. I am not sure I like their interface that much, but I like keeping track of what I do. I could do spark people again, but

I am not really putting myself on a specific diet. I am being more cognizant of my food choices. And this week I will be going to the doctor to see if I can try out ad.i.pex.
I don’t feel like I need it, but I don’t think it can hurt to try!

So anyway – my morning schedule one day a week is to go to the gym at 5am, then go to the grocery and pick up the weeklys. Then I return home, get lunches ready, maybe have time for a spot of breakfast and a cup of coffee. I clothe the children and myself and head out the door.
I also do this schedule, minus the groceries, two other days a week.
And today I did this schedule plus I voted, so that counts extra.

Wish me luck!

Not to bore anyone with the same info – but here is a video of our project:

I am excited to begin preparations for Thanksgiving.  I want to paint some gourds to decorate the tables. I was thinking about making some sort of activity for everyone that comes to do about thankfulness. And I need to create a meal plan.

I am also going to create a peg doll nativity set for the kids to play with. The Fisher Price set is neat, but crazy expensive. Let’s see if I get it done. Usually I will get it done if I am passionate about it.

Today I am thankful that I can find passion in small projects.

This project is my excuse for missing two days of nablopomo posts. Flap the butterflies wings and it plays a song. Turn of the lights and the lights will change.

I posted that I was going to post every single day this month.

I then promptly walked away and did not post for two days.

My class project is due tonight at Midnight. It a physical computing project where we hack an analog toy to add digital elements.
My team member and I have gone through many iterations because our initial ideas were just not working. Today is for documenting our process.

Wish me luck!

Today I am thankful for an extra hour in the morning.