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Creatress

Country: United States
State: Washington
Metro: Olympia
Birthday: 5/15/1984
Gender: Female

Interests: Activism, awareness, spirituality, linguistics, environmentalism, world religions, music, writing, reading, learning, languages, people, nature, social justice
Expertise: Haha! I'm an "expert", eh? Okay, okay, I'm majoring in World Languages, with minors in Women's Studies and Environmental Studies. So we'll just say I study a little bit of everything.
Occupation: Student
Industry: Education/Research

Message: message me

Member Since: 8/22/2002

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Monday, April 02, 2007

Update and Fertility Ironies

So it's been about six weeks since my last "update." Womp......womp.......womp. I don't even know exactly what to say, in some ways. So I'll start with a general update.

1) I will be able to get in all of my AmeriCorps hours by the end of the year, it seems. All of them.
2) The baby's still healthy, and I'm definitely ready to stop growing, now, at 8 months.

3) I haven't been making enough time for myself, lately; probably because I've been serving so much. But I'm hoping to get back into a healthy balance this week.

So, I don't know what else to say about that.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The main reason I got on was being rantily inspired by this quotation from The Complete Lesbian and Gay Parenting Guide by Arlene Istar Lev:
"The reality is that even under ideal circumstances, many women do take a while to get pregnant....fertility drugs, in vitro fertilization, and donor egg retreival can easily bring montly costs over $10,000, making these options accesible only to women of some financial privilege....even when women are able to conceive, there is no guarantee that they will be able to successfully maintain a pregnancy. Pregnancy loss, miscarriage, and fetal death can happen at any time during the pregnancy. Miscarriages early in pregnancy are fairly common--about 30 percent of pregnancies, by some estimates, end in miscarriage, sometimes very early in the pregnancy. Many more fertile eggs never implant in the womb....Miscarriages are common; approximately a third of women will experience at least one miscarriage..." (92-94).

Hm. And then there are those putzes like me who manage to do JUST FINE without ever having to TRY to do anything. Some women spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to get pregnant...and some of us do it on accident.

But you know, in some ways, that all just reiterates to me that this baby is supposed to be here. Not to say that those women who try so hard aren't supposed to be mothers; I don't know God's stand on that at all. But for all of the stars to have been in line, for conception to have occured (when, in my defense, the likelihood was slim), for implantation to have happened, for this pregnancy to be healthy and complication-free for at least 8 months without any real effort on my part--that says something.

Or maybe it doesn't. Maybe it was a grand fluke. But the odds of that seem so very slim.

1:48 AM - 73 views - 6 eprops - 4 comments - email it

Monday, February 19, 2007

UCC Quiz!

[This is reprinted from the UCC.org website.]

On April 29, seven teens at Robbinsdale (Minn.) UCC were confirmed. After two years of their confirmation class, the confirmands were expected to know the answers to these 100 questions.

1. What does UCC stand for?

2. What does it mean to be Christian?

3. What are the three parts of the trinity?

4. When we speak of Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, to what do each of these terms refer?

5. What are the two sacraments observed in the Reformed tradition?

6. What does it mean to be part of the Reformed tradition?

7. How many books are there in the Bible?

8. What are the two main sections of the Bible?

9. What is the lectionary?

10. What is the liturgical year?

11. What is the purpose of worship?

12. What is the invocation in worship?

13. What is the benediction?

14. How are the scriptures used in worship selected?

15. What is the purpose of confession?

16. What is the assurance of pardon?

17. What might be acts of praise in worship?

18. What is oral tradition?

19. What are the gospels?

20. What is the canon?

21. What is the Reformation?

22. What is Transfiguration?

23. What is Pentecost?

24. What is the meaning of revelation?

25. What religion was Jesus?

26. In what language was the Old Testament originally written?

27. In what language was the New Testament originally written?

28. What are the epistles in the Bible?

29. What parts might make up one's statement of faith? The UCC Statement of Faith?

30. How many creation stories are in the Bible?

31. In what book are the creation stories found?

32. Which book of the Bible tells of Moses leading the Hebrew slaves from Egypt toward the promised land?

33. In which book of the Bible are the 10 Commandments found?

34. Which book of the Bible tells of a good man who trusted God even though God caused lots of really bad things to happen to him—starvation, death of family members, etc.?

35. Which book of the Bible tells of a man who ran away from God, was swallowed by a big fish, then decided to do what God wanted?

36. Which group of books of the Bible are the words of people who understand themselves to be chosen by God to tell God's people that they must change their evil ways, repent or else God will destroy them?

37. Which two books of the Bible tell of the boy who killed Goliath, was the hero of the Philistines, became King, fell in love with another man's wife so he had the man sent into battle to be killed, played a lyre, and composed many songs of praise which are found in another book of the Bible?

38. What book of the Bible contains the songs of praise written by David?

39. To what does the New Revised Standard Version refer?

40. Who started the Christian church?

41. What does the word Messiah mean?

42. What does incarnation mean?

43. What does it mean that Jesus Christ was fully human fully divine?

44. What is repentance?

45. What are things for which one should repent?

46. What does it mean to say God unconditionally loves us?

47. What is grace?

48. What does atonement mean?

49. What is theology?

50. What does resurrection mean?

51. What is a parable?

52. What does it mean to be Christ's disciple?

53. What does it mean to renounce the power of evil?

54. What does it mean to resist oppression?

55. What does it mean to profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?

56. What are some ways to describe the Holy Spirit?

57. What is a covenant?

58. What is the New Covenant?

59. What does it mean to call the church the Body of Christ?

60. What does the cost and joy of discipleship mean?

61. What is the Passover?

62. What is the meaning of Holy Communion?

63. What are some other names for Holy Communion?

64. What is faith?

65. What is stewardship?

66. What is mission?

67. What is evangelism?

68. What is the purpose of baptism?

69. What happened at Christmas?

70. What is Advent?

71. What is Lent?

72. What is Palm or Passion Sunday?

73. What happened at Easter?

74. What is Holy Week?

75. What is Ordinary Time?

76. What is Eternal life?

77. What is salvation?

78. What is heaven?

79. What does it mean to be called?

80. What is anointing?

81. What is Ash Wednesday?

82. What is a blessing?

83. What is a chalice?

84. What is the chancel?

85. What is a narthex?

86. What are clergy?

87. What does it mean to be commissioned?

88. What does it mean to be a congregational church?

89. What is a creed?

90. What is a denomination?

91. What is a doxology?

92. What are elements (used in worship)?

93. What is a hymn?

94. What does the Kingdom of God mean?

95. What are laity?

96. What is a Seder?

97. What is mission?

98. What is a sanctuary?

99. What does it mean to be a Protestant?

100. What does a mentor do?

4:50 PM - 194 views - add eprops - add comments - email it

Sunday, February 18, 2007

What are we doing to our children?

I'm on an e-mail list (ePalestine) that sends me 2-3 e-mails each week. I read maybe half of them. The one I received today was one of the more enlightening ones, for me, because I was able to just watch this information and let it really sink in.

The first video, I had seen before. It's the Jesus Camp trailer (with Arabic subtitles, notice. What must they think of this, if we have a problem with their jihad?) The second video, however, reminded me strongly of the squatter settlements in Pavas, one of the regions in San Jose, Costa Rica. This video digs into the real experience of occupation and what these children have to look forward to.

I feel the need to analyze these two media experiences next to each other. I feel the need to rant and get angry. But what will that do, aside from make me angry? What am I doing to STOP this? I shouldn't have to think so hard for an answer; I suppose that is the answer, itself.

12:12 AM - 57 views - 4 eprops - 2 comments - email it

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Legislating Love

Hey, all. I just wanted to send your way a copy of what I'm submitting for Equal Rights Washington's lobbying book.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 (Are they hearts? Are they ass cream cones? You tell me.)

Esteemed state and country leaders, I am writing on behalf of my unborn daughter in favor of marriage equality. Her creation was unexpected and unplanned, but I know that she will be a leader someday. She's due to breathe her first breath of air the day after I turn 23. Her father's a friend, but nothing more. Shortly after deciding to parent, I re-established a relationship with a former (female) partner, Amber, who will be this miracle's other mom.

It would make our lives much easier if we could get married, but that's not why I fight for marriage equality. I'm fighting for my daughter, who couldn't visit Amber in the hospital if she were hurt. My daughter, who likely would go into foster care and the custody of the state if I were to die. My daughter, who isn't recognized in the eyes of the law as being Amber's daughter. My daughter, who won't care which mother gave birth to her when it's both who help her with her homework and gently clean her skinned knees after a fall.

Yes, it may be possible to find a kind court that will allow Amber to second-parent adopt our daughter. But we don't have the money for that, yet, as we're both paying off student loans and hoping to go to grad school to ensure a better life for our family. If something happens before then, it rips my heart to know that either of these two people--who mean the world to me and will mean the world to each other--could suffer. My daughter has the potential to be a force for change in this world, but as it stands, she is vulnerable. An unfortunate situation could turn into a catastrophe in her life because the legal support networks in place for those families recognized by the law do not apply to her family.

I am also a woman of the Christian faith. I love God, and some of the most concrete evidence of God's love for me is the love Amber and I share. The fact that some who share faith in the same God consider that love a sin worth withholding legal protections for my daughter, who had NO input regarding whom I love, makes me hope that the leaders of this country in which I live have a stronger sense of morality and justice.

11:58 PM - 46 views - 12 eprops - 7 comments - email it

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

	Stuart Davis! Oh, orgasm! Omigosh! Stuart Davis! In Seattle! And I have to be in Seattle that day anyway to drop Amber off! (I mean, sad that I have to drop Amber off, but STUART DAVIS!) I MUST GO!
	12:57 AM - 38 views - 6 eprops - 3 comments - email it

Next 5 >>

Update and Fertility Ironies

UCC Quiz!

What are we doing to our children?

Legislating Love

Stuart Davis! Oh, orgasm!