For Such a Time as This

For those that don't know, for months ago, I gave away or sold everything I owned, save a bit of art or heirlooms that my BFF is so graciously storing and packed only what would fit in a rental car and moved cross country.

A month before I left I woke from a dream with the phrase “For such a time as this,” running in my head. I was drawn to the story of Esther and to the book of Proverbs. I knew that wisdom, above all else, would be my greatest need with my move. It was not going to be easy from a financial, physical or mental standpoint; but I had that same word God had given to Esther – you are being called to a different place “for such a time as this.”

What was this time? What was about to happen? What was I going to be doing? What was I going to endure to be a part of this “plan”? What was this plan? Did I have the strength and wisdom to do this? What did I know for sure?

I was not ready to do this alone, but alone was part of the need. I had to leave behind all the physical signs of personal comfort and self-delusions of security and go. I would be surrounded by deceit so deeply entrenched that I suspected I do not know its depths. Would I recognize it beyond the obvious? Would I have the grace and wisdom to combat it and be the voice of truth? Did I have the emotional tenacity and strength to stand against the bashing waves of deceit and manipulation? Did I really trust God that, WOW, HE had to have this under control because I was not going to have any control except over my own reactions to people and circumstance. I also suspected that those were not going to be as easy to deal with as one might hope. But, I had been told - “Its for such a time as this.” What did that mean?

So I read Proverbs – over and over and over again? I investigated my options for local support and I prayed, even fasted, as I felt led.

Then I got tired. I got distracted. I lost my focus. With that loss of focus, the depression returned. That’s when I realized. I had forgotten my word.

So when you need to be inspired – you go back to those things that inspire you. A Movie, a book, a video, a song, a magazine, a store, a person – you know what gets you motivated to clean or redecorate or bake or whatever – your inspiration. Esther was that story for me. I had felt before like I needed to dig into the book and such the marrow out of the bones, but procrastination reared its ugly head – and I lost focus. So I’m going back. Its late and now there is a delay in my growth and it feels harder than it was before, but this is where I was told to go last, so I am going back to that spot, hoping it’s not too late, till God points me or calls me elsewhere.

Its beginning to look a lot like...Thanksgiving? 

This week I learned that the Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga will be opening at 6pm on Thanksgiving to allow for early Black Friday sales. See the Chattanooga Times-Free Press article.  

This disturbs me greatly. Black Friday sales starting on Thanksgiving - No, people, NO. 

So this year, I have decided to take a stand. 

If a store has decided to start its Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving, I will not be Christmas shopping at that store this season. While this may limit my options in some cases - That's what a boycott is. Telling a business that you are so displeased with their actions, they are no longer worthy of your money - even if it is inconvenient to you.

For those that have taken a similar stance TheBlackFriday.com has a fairly comprehensive List of stores opening on Thanksgiving for sales. They also have compiled an easy list of major retailers that have resisted that trend and will be Closed for Thanksgiving. (A thank you to James Marler for the Link) If some should be added to this list - please feel free to message me. 

The Hamilton Place website is hard to navigate, so I have compiled a list for you specifically of the stores in the mall that will be opening on Thanksgiving

Accessorize Custom Dreams Mori Luggage & Gifts Air Expressions Dead Sea New York & Co. American Eagle Earthbound Trading Co. PacSun Aroma Lamp Elite Wireless/AT&T Precious Bangles Aqua Foot Care Express Rack Room Banana Republic Finish Line Sbarro bareMinerals Great Wraps Sears Bath & Body Works Herstyler Sephora Belk Hollister The Shoe Dept. Body Central Icing Spencer Gifts Buckle JCPenney Splat Ball Cellairis Jump for Joy Sports Stop Charming Charlie Justice Sunglass Hut The Children's Place Lids Teavana City Gear The Limiited Things Remembered Claires LV Nail Bar Yankee Candle

One of the best ways to avoid the crunch of finding good retailers is to buy from small local businesses and artisans. They would appreciate your business and you are feeding your local economy. 

Should I move to Wall Street?

What is Occupy Wall Street?
What do the Wall St. protesters stand for or want?
Is it a worthy cause?
Are the things they are protesting economically sound?
What do economists think of the Occupiers?


Talk to your local historians. They will tell you we are now in the same place we were just before the depth of the Great Depression, or at least almost there. Many of the conservatives hated what the progressive president proposed to do and fought tooth and nail against many of the President's proposed programs. However, if they had been instituted sooner, there is a real possibility that they would have worked better than they already were. Yes, its true. It was World War II that actually sprang us from our poverty. However, the plans and proposals for job creation, as I understand history, may have succeeded and definitely would have done so if instituted sooner.


So where does that leave us now? What do we do now? As a political moderate, whose eyes start to roll back in her head when you talk about economics, I still want to hear from both sides of this debate.
Is there a debate? Should there be one? I asked the other day on Facebook what the Wall St. Protesters were protesting and I got one response. It was from someone who is angry at the world and this is his most recent cause to wrangle his death-metal fed post adolescent male rage. I want facts, I want figures. I do not want anything that Michael Moore or Rush Limbaugh have to say. Additionally, I do not care what Michelle Bachman or Cornell West have to say on the matter. Give me some intelligent, well thought out, economically based (theoretically) information.


Before you call me a communist pig, tool of the socialist liberals,  pawn of the right-wing religious extremists, or a Tea-bagger (yes I know the dirty implications of that title), please be aware that I did not vote for our current President Obama. I did not vote for the Republican candidate either. I voted for the man that held closest to what I believe a President should be and stand for - he was an independent candidate.


Here is my thoughts on corporate greed at the moment.
Quit buying from Wal-mart! Pay an extra 30-cents and support your local groceries and hardware stores. The more you support them, the better you are on the environment, the better quality your produce will be. the most money will go back into your local economy, and the more people they can employ. Fine - you can work at Wal-mart. Fine. Take your paycheck from them; but for heaven's sakes, put that money in a place that benefits you.

Most Fantastic Lentil Soup Evah!

Sick. fall Allergies. Hot tea with lemon. Benedryl. Kleenex. You get the gist of my week now.


However, this morning, I am feeling better (Benedryl induced, most likely); and decided to actually cook something. Initially I was craving potato soup. However, upon realizing that all good sounding potato recipes called for cream or half-n-half, I decided against those. I may be feeling better, but not well enough to put on a bra and go the store. Instead, we went for lentils.


If you are like me, my memories of childhood lentil soup are not pleasant. A gray greenish mysteriously thick gruel with the random tiny bean looking thing in it. Strangely enough, it's exactly the same as my impression of split pea soup; but that trauma is for another day. Today, however, I have triumphed. The most fantastic soup, with colors and textures and flavor - sooo sooo good. And No, it is not good just 'cause I'm sick.


This is one of those recipes that will go in the comfort food, veg-out day, meal plans. You know the ones where its dreary from raining for 3 days straight and you are watching some marathon on the Sci-fi channel or been sucked into a Lifetime Movie. The day where you plan to clean the house, but after washing the dishes, you sit down to rest and never get back up again.

Best Lentil Soup Evah.

1 cup dried brown lentils
4 cups chicken broth*
1 can (10oz) tomatoes w/ green chilies
1 can diced tomatoes**
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks (including leaves,)chopped
1/2lb Beef Kielbasa
1 bay leaf
Tbsp Thyme
Tsp oregano
(optional) carrot puree/pulp***
Balsamic vinegar

1. Over medium heat, cook onions in olive oil in a large soup pan. Add garlic and celery. Once celery begins to soften, add carrots, tomatoes, stock and spices.


2. Pour in lentils.

3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and allow the soup to simmer for 20 minutes.***

4. In skillet brown the sausage and then deglaze pan with a little of the simmering stock. Dump entirety of skillet back into pot.

5. Simmer for 10 more min.

6. Remove from heat, discard bay leaf and add dash of vinegar.


*use as many low sodium ingredients a possible

**no salt added

***I keep the leftover pulp from juicing my carrots in the freezer.
After bringing the soup to a boil, add about 1/4 cup to stock for flavor, and additional thickening.
Putting a carrot in the food processor would give you similar effect.

Catharsis in Humiliation?

I have been researching the produced screenplays written by Erin Cressida Wilson because she is supposed to have had a hand in the screenplay of "Stoker" according to the NY Times. Wilson's movies all have similar themes, exploring the fringes of human sexuality - I was not wholly unfamiliar with her work, having seen "Fur: an Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus." and I think being the only one that liked it. However, her first movie, "Secretary" was supposed to have been a big hit in the indie world - and apparently I missed it when it debuted in 2002. All that being said, I watched it today and DO NOT get it.
       Here's what I don't get... the reveling in humiliation. Not wholly unfamiliar with the BDSM lifestyle although I don't really subscribe to it myself, I understand the psychology of relinquishing control and the need to be in control and the currency of trust in a loving relationship and to a degree I understand, though do no prefer, the concept of stretching the bodies limits and boundaries of pain and pleasure. However, I do NOT understand what catharsis a stable, emotionally healthy individual would get from real humiliation, either giving or receiving. As a matter of fact, I don't see what catharsis is achieved for an unhealthy individual.

Trust? um... where and why? And Trust is supposed to be the point of BDSM relationships... so again, WHAT? As a dominate person in such a relationship, if your job is to see to the welfare of the submissive, I am going to assume that means their mental and emotional well being as well - Where does humiliation play a part? What is achieved or gained? I wish someone would explain this to me.

Book Review - Naamah's Curse

Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Of all of the books in this series - This is the one I liked least.
Still well written, but a bit more predictable than all the others. Also, this one seemed to get a bit "preachy". I've always enjoyed Carey's incorporation of Elua's pantheon with the others, but this one was just too much.

The problem is that Moirin is not as interesting a character as Phedre. She seems a bit shallow and the idea of her "falling in love" with everyone she comes in contact, while a nice idea makes for less conflict - the heart of the first few books of the series. Its still a good read - but I am hoping that if we continue to hear about Moirin, as it looks like we may, that her character deepens or at least the conflict she is facing seems dire enough that I too struggle to find the answer with her.


SPOILER!!
With the discovery of the black diamond there was a hint that it was possible for Moirin to explore the darker side of desire. I would like to see more of that in the next book. Carey has a way of making things that I myself had not ever though appealing a bit more so and making me curious. When a book makes you think - that is when it is a worthy read.

Book Review - Naamah's Kiss

Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Jacqueline Carey is one of the few author's who not only can entertain but inspires me to be a better writer. The skill with which she weilds words is rare. In the world of Fantasy books even moreso. For those that found the previous books too hard to read or hold inside, they will find this much lighter-hearted tale wholly to their liking.


Having waded through all through all of Kushiel's Legacy thus far, tracing the lives of Phedre and Imriel, I was expecting more of the same. When I first opened the book, I feared that she, as many others had done before, had managed to mire herself in the tales of the druid Morgain and Arthurian legends - not that I mind those, but I loved Careys book for their wholly unique take on God, gods, goddesses and magic. However, after reading for one full chapter, I was thrilled to see that Ms. Carey had again managed to spin a tale uniquely hers and of characters wholly her own, untainted my legends written over and over again by so many others. It was not another authors attempt at the arthurian legend again. Thank Elua.


Where the world of Phedre and Imriel was dense, teeming with darknesses of both horror and pleasure, the tale of Moirin is the opposite. There is ancient history, intrigue and dire circumstances, but there is a lightness to this book that the other did not have. While I hoped to revel in the violent grips of desire as I had in her earlier books, I find myself not necessarily disappointed that this one is bright and sunlit and joyous throughout. In the past, I felt the almost trapped as the characters were in their circumstances, dug in beyond rescue and exquisitly so; however this book brought an energy of untainted love, fleeting ephemeral beauty and magic all lit in the bright jade eyes of a half-breed young woman in search of her destiny and followed by the light hand of gods that gave with equanamity.