Respecting each other - is that the answer?

I fully support blaming the rapist and not shaming the victim. No is no, and men should be held responsible for not respecting that. I do NOT think that men cannot control their urges, nor that seeing a provocatively dressed woman will cause them to lose their minds and attack her like dogs chasing one in heat. Humans are separated from the rest of the animal kingdom by our intellect, and our ability to control ourselves.

However, having a teenage daughter makes me not so comfortable with the opposite extreme, either. Should women be able to walk around in however little clothing they choose without fear of getting raped? Absolutely. But should they?

I've been torn about this. But, I'm not just a feminist, I'm an equalitatist. Men should respect women enough to not rape, and women should respect men (and themselves) enough to expose their bodies so much. How respectful is it to dress up in ultra-sexy clothes, and parade around men basically saying "You can't have me?" It isn't at all.


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Fun with Siri

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Boo!

Last night we went to our favorite Halloween event, Boo at the Zoo. Since we had visited the zoo twice already earlier in the month, Sophie had seen all the preparations and was super excited about going. The only problem was narrowing down a costume! She wanted to be Ariel, Belle, a pink princess, and a superhero. All at once. We finally decided on Doc McStuffins, and E was a ladybug. E's boyfriend also joined us, dressed as a soldier.

Many of the animals were not out, but we saw elephants and zebras enjoying the crowd. Parts of the zoo were blocked off to keep patrons on the trick-or-treat trail, but there were so many things going on we didn't miss seeing them. The city had a police car, a fire truck, and a big tractor for exploring, the minor league baseball team had their bouncy house there, and there was face painting, dancers, music, and a big Monster Mash dance party in the party tent at the end. The carousel is also "haunted" for Halloween - it goes backwards! We had a blast.

The girls with Thing 1 and Thing 2

Bouncy!

Trick or treating on the trail

Doc McStuffins!

There were costumed characters throughout the zoo for pictures.

We all got masks, too!

E's favorite movie

Fire truck!

Mediterranean breakfast quinoa

It's no secret I love quinoa. I keep a lookout for new recipes, and recently found several good recipes in various cookbooks on my kindle. Two were breakfast recipes, and I tried one yesterday.




It's not a sweet breakfast, but it's tasty and OH so filling! In general, 1 cup dry quinoa yields two cups cooked. I split this into two bowls and could only eat half of one. I was so full!

Recipe:
1 c quinoa, rinsed
2 c milk
1/2 c chopped almonds
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp honey
1/4 c raisins
3 dried apricots, chopped

Combine quinoa, milk, & cinnamon in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.

When I made this, I didn't have almonds so I omitted those. Next time I make this, I'll use more apricots and raisins, though. It didn't seem like enough fruit to me. Probably more honey, too, as it seemed to need more sweetness. The extra fruit would probably be enough, though.


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What I'm listening to lately

My favorite song right now - Royals by Lorde. This is one talented teenager.

*****

Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Ray

*****

Applause. Yes, I still love Lady Gaga.

*****

Same Love by Macklemore. I love this song so hard.

*****

Roar might be the first Katy Perry song I download.

Breathe.

A friend shared this picture on Facebook today. I love this.
Just breathe.

Hi, stranger

Hello again.
I know, it's been a while. I've been having a hard time lately, mentally. I'm always tired, and I've had no interest in writing anything. Blog, fiction, freelance, nothing. I'm hoping to pull myself out of this though.
It's been a rough year. A lot of huge things have happened, and a situation we expected to be short-lived has continued. Basically, our family needs a break.

I promised myself to make an effort, though. I can't guarantee my posts are going to be of spectacular quality for a while, but I'm focusing on quantity for now.

Right now, though, it's bedtime.


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