As my husband's dreams were going down in smoke as Fresno State lost their once-in-a-lifetime shot at winning the college baseball championship, I was busy researching and planning our next big project: re-doing the fireplace in our living room and adding some major crown molding, wainscoting and a bookshelf. As I googled "wainscoting fireplace" I came across an amazing blog that oddly, has nothing to do with wainscoting or fireplaces. Nonetheless, I was intrigued...

Here's the Blog: TheWorldIsNotFlat

Its about one couple's journey on a year long vacation around the world. Its incredible the things they've seen and the places they went, the adventures they had. I haven't read it all yet (I know what I'm doing the rest of tonight!) but how cool would that be!? You should seriously check it out. I think dreaming of our 'next big project' has turned into dreaming of our 'next big adventure!'

Thinking it was a bit warm today, I just checked the weather (its 6:15 p.m.)... and its 105 degrees! Then I looked at the 10-day projected line up and exclaimed to my husband (who is grilling filet, pork and chicken kabobs): "Man! Its going to be nice Thursday and Friday next week! Well... 'nice' being 95 and 96 degrees." **shrugs** I guess its all realtive. :-) Right now I'm wishing we'd bought that other house with the pool. :-)

So, we have noisy neighbors. And, suffice it to say, this irks me more than just a little bit. Thumping club music was something I had hoped we left behind in the apartments. We're paying a hefty mortgage, and it ticks me off a great deal to have to deal with noisy parties... maybe if we lived in a different area of town, I'd expect it... but this is a family neighborhood. A nice part of town. There's kids and old people all around. And apparently, there's also one house with partying 30-somethings who can't seem to leave their 20-something habits behind.

I've called the cops 3 times now (we've lived here just over a month!) and have gone over there at 11:30 pm to ask them to turn the music down. NOTHING has worked... they just don't get it... well, more likely, they don't care.
Anyways, that's the most excitement I've had all week. hahaha. We were going to go hiking in Yosemite this weekend, but decided against it... its supposed to be hot this weekend and we don't have a/c in our car. I started a new job this week... and its going well! That's all for now!

Alright, so this is from one of my favorite guilty pleasures, Perezhilton.com -hey don't judge! Oh, and this is Sheyenne not Sean writing this too....

But I'd love to hear your thoughts.... that is, if anyone reads this!

The French Parliament has created a new bill
that would make it illegal for anyone to publicly promote extreme
thinness. This includes everything from magazines, newspapers,
websites, anything media related.

How do you PROMOTE extreme thinness???

This has "issues" written all over it!

The bill has already been approved unanimously and is set to
go for approval to the Senate in the next few weeks.

This law would be the strongest of its type ever passed. The proposed
law comes after the death of a Brazilian
model in 2006 which was linked to anorexia. Her death prompted officials
throughout the fashion industry to re-evaluate and address the use of portraying
extremely thin models. This also led to Spain banning extremely thin models from
walking in their fashion shows.
...

Last week, fashion industry members and lawmakers all signed a
charter agreeing to promote healthier body images.

...

Some in the fashion industry are strongly opposing the bill, such as
Didier Grumbach, president of the influential French Federation of Couture.
Rightfully so!
Grumbach said, “Never will we accept in our profession that a
judge decides if a young girl is skinny or not skinny. That doesn’t exist in the
world, and it will certainly not exist in France.”
This is a troubling and
scary issue.

Is the government going too far?
Is the media to blame for anorexia?
Is it genetic? What about peer pressure????
So many questions!


Ok, so now on to my commentary, which I know you are all just DYING to hear.... I personally think this attention to the whole concept of supermodels being too thin is long overdue. Much like the issue of young celebrities going to rehab before they're even "legally" of age to drink needs to be addressed. (But that's a different subject, a different soapbox... Drew? Lindsay? Nicole? Anyone?....)

I try to be objective in most things and listen to all sides, especially the so-called "hot topics" of our times... abortion, homosexuality, other faiths, etc. Its surprisingly easy in most cases to put aside my personal feelings with those topics because even though I have in some way been impacted by each of those issues, It has been an indirect impact... meaning it is something that someone(s) I deeply love and care for have experienced or is living, not myself directly. So I try not to judge on those issues, or make arrogant statements that I personally know nothing about. I listen to all sides, seek out what I know to be the Biblical truth on the subject, then go about trying to find ways to respectfully have open dialogue with those who hold opposing views. Afterall, who has ever convinced a woman not to have an abortion by telling her she's going to hell if she kills her unborn child. Um, I can't think of a one. But I digress...

Back to the subject at hand... what exactly is that? Oh yes... well the article talked about the French government somehow regulating the physical appearance of fashion models. My buddy Perez raised the questions,

Is the government going too far?Is the media to blame for
anorexia? Is it
genetic? What about peer pressure????

If you don't want to read any further my answer to all of those questions is Yes. Yes, Yes, yes and YES. But I sincerely hope you'll stick around to find out why. :-) This is a topic with which I do have personal experience... eleven years of personal experience, to be exact. So forgive me if I have strong opinions, but I've more than earned my right to speak them at this moment.

Is the government going too far? Yes. It is a scary thing when we allow the government to dictate what can and cannot be said, seen or heard thru creative outlets. It is a fine line to walk between democracy and dictatorship when we begin to allow congress or other ruling groups of people to decide for a society as a whole what can be seen in fashion shows, on runways, and beyond. I know you may take this too far and ask, "Well, what if a jewelry designer decided to parade naked models up and down a runway, wearing nothing but his new Spring line of diamonds... should no one regulate that?" Honestly, in my opinion, no. As long as the expressions are kept to a private venue, where only those who want to be there can see it... so be it. My problem comes when people encroach on my right NOT to see such things. Now, THAT being said.... Fashion is everywhere. You cannot escape the images of rail-thin models showcasing the lastest lines and prints. Sooo... with that in mind then, IS it the government's place to step in? I will start talking in circles...so this is just to get you thinking. :-)

Is the media, genetics, or peer pressure to blame for anorexia? Yes, yes, yes and no, no, no. This is such a complicated issue that to assign a single answer would be negligent and errant. All I know is that in my eating disorder, all THREE played an issue, and there is nothing that could have prevented it. Genetics predisposed me to have an addictive personality (yes, I do believe in the so-called "addiction" gene), peer pressure to look good and be perfect was a driving force in the inception of my eating disorder, and images in the media helped enable and fuel my habits and addiction. However, to place blame on any of those elements is also not right. The media, genetics, peer pressure... while they all played a part, they were not the catalyst that sent me into a self-destructive spiral downward. It goes much deeper than that.

While I applaud the French government for stepping in when everyone else is simply enabling a new generation of women who hate themselves, I don't really believe they are the ones who should be doing it. I think/hope/wish it should/would/could come from within the fashion industry themselves... one would hope that they would see the starving, sunken eyes of their pre-pubescent models and realize that they are doing them a disservice. One would hope that Americans would look at the covers of magazines and recognize them as a hoax instead of starving and carving themselves to look something that is no more real than a mirage in the desert. I've been encouraged by a couple of media outlets, such as Dove, who has the Campaign for Real Beauty. I think that is awesome. And every single one of their models is gorgeous. As a real woman, I would love to see more of that. The revolt against disgusting fashions, the idea that thin is the only body type accepted, need to come from us... the people, the consumers. WE are the ones who keep fueling this obsession... not the fashion industry. If we didn't buy their clothes, they wouldn't be making them. We need to stop passing blame and start taking a stand, if we really care about it. It is up to us to instill in our daughters their worth... we should leave no room for them to question "Am I pretty enough?"... we should leave no room for wandering when it comes to finding their value... women, young and old, need to find it from within and feel it from above. I don't know about you, but I got tired of the media's old song and dance a long time ago. And that is when I realized that I am more than a number, a size, a weight... and that is when I found recovery.

Well, here it is, once again more than a month since I last updated. I have no good excuse, other than that I forgot the password. *laughs*

Sean has been at a y outh ministry conference in Chicago all week, and I am so ready for him to be home. He actually got to see my parents while he was there too!... I was jealous. Mom and Dad and Dave were in Chicago for a reception for incoming Freshman at DePaul (where my bro is going next year)... so I talked to my dad last week and told him Sean was in Chi-Town, and he said they were gonig to be there Sat & Sun, so they met up for dinner!

In other news, its freaking hot here in California! 90-some degrees today... and its APRIL! Ugh! Our car still doesn't have A/C... so we have to make an appointment to get one installed... (See post on BAMBOOZLED!) I've spent the majority of the past two days making some curtiain for our living room. I've never done that before... the first one took 9 hours... ugh. But the second one only took about 2 hours. So taht's good. And in the end, no more glare on our TV. yay!

My BFFFEEEE Tracy is coming to see me on Wednesday! I can NOT wait!!! We're going to San Fran on Thursday and Friday... I'm so excited... I've never been there before! We're staying on Lombard Street, near Fishermans' Wharf. We found a great crab restaurant to go to and I am so stoked. Mostly, I just can't wait to be with my best friend again. There is something so sweet about friendship. Its just absolutely indescribable. Someone who is not related, but loves you like a sister.... someone who is truthful, honest and not afraid to tell it like it is. Someone who listens to my gripes and rationalizes my fear away. She's great and I miss her so much! I am grateful for the friends I have already here in California, but Tracy and I's relationship is so different, so unique... something that has been shaped by years and circumstances and that can never be subsitituted or replaced. So, i'm stoked to see her!

In May I get to go home for my baby brother's graduation! I can't believe he's that old! Crazy. Then its a loooooong hot summer in Cali, followed by a fabulous weekend in Vegas in Septemeber with my BFFs Tracy (of COURSE), Will and Wade and Chad. :-) I can't WAIT. We're doing it up big this year becuase shortly after, Tracy and I (and our hubby's of course) are hoping to start trying for babies!!! I guess I should phrase that as Sean and I, and Tracy and Jim are hoping to start trying next Fall for a baby. That's better. I have the baby fever, but know that i'm not emotionally ready to start trying again. So some goood, quality friendship and family time, as well as time to settle in to our new house should do my heart some good. :-)

Church is well.;.... I am starting another girls' bible study (at their request!) on Sunday a.m. and I am really excited about it! I still miss the kids in NC a LOT but am slowly getting to know more and more people here. So that's good.... Hmmm not much else. I'm just ready for Sean to get home tomorrow!!!

Do you ever find yourself narrating your life inside your head like a blog? Maybe I'm the only strange one, but almost daily--weekly for sure-- I'll be out and about and come across an interesting situation or encounter someone that will get my gears grinding.... and I think to myself all these philosophical thoughts that would make a great blog... but I'm never close to a computer! This is my dorky confession of the day. :-) But it explains the lack of wit in this blog, because nothing particularly interesting has prompted this entry.... just the houding knowledge that its been way too long since I have updated.

But, a few things are new in our life.... we're buying a house! Its gorgeous! I have pics on my Facebook and Myspace, if ya wanna see. Or just ask. I may post some here when I have more time. It was a crazy ordeal... we saw the house on Friday, made on offer on it before we even left the house that day and by Monday we found out there were 11 other offers on it! We upped our offer just a bit, assuming we wouldn't get it... but then we did ! I have no idea why or how, but we are hoping to close by the 28th! So that is exciting but also scary! Oh, and we just found out that our car has no A/C. No, its not broken, it just DOESN"T HAVE IT. Yeah, we got bamboozled when we bought the darn thing. It was December, so we didn't even THINK about A/C.... and its a 2002 Honda.... I never would have thought in my wildest dreams Honda would sell a 2000 or later model with no A/C.... apparently they do. So, seeing as that is our only car, A/C is less than a luxury here in Central Cali.... more of a dire necessity. But, a refridgerator is also a necessity... so we'll have to see.... we may be sweatin' a lot this spring and summer!

Other than that, life is good. My family (including my adorable 6 month old niece) came to see us a few weeks ago, and my best friend, Tracy is coming in a little over a month, as is my Father In Law, Jay! We're excited....

Anyways, there's an update.... no promises on the next one, though I really will try!