An Interesting Resolution Concept: One Word

I’m not one for New year’s Resolutions because, frankly, they don’t succeed. I’d love to know if any of my readers have succeeded at one of their resolutions, ever. There is something being discussed on #sachat however that intrigues me: One Word Resolution. Some of the Tweeters I follow did this in 2011, and inspired many more to try it out in 2012. The idea behind this is that you select one word to sum up who you want to be or how you want to live for the year that you concentrate on every day.

As I look back at 2011 and ahead for 2012, I can see EXACTLY what word I need to  select for this project: FOCUS.

Image from "Learning Fundamentals"

In fact, this has been something I should have concentrated on for years, but I’m not going to worry about the past. With the new-ish job, Girl Scouts, wedding planning, housework, hobbies, Ellie and friends, I don’t have a lot of time available for screwing around aimlessly. Well, a ton of screwing around anyway. I know that when I follow a schedule and check things off my to-do list, I’m a happier person, and less prone to bouts of anxiety. When I get caught up in the cycle of anxiety, I shut down and don’t accomplish anything.

So, focus.

A Confession

Today, I read an article on Discovery news entitled, “Women’s Clothing Sizes: Is a 4 Really a 4?” and it hit a sore spot within my psyche. From the article for those of you not interested in reading it:

THE GIST

• As Americans have grown bigger, clothing sizes have become more generous.
• The way clothes fit has a big impact on how women feel about their bodies and themselves.
• In general, most clothes don’t fit most people very well.

None of this is unfamiliar to us these days, but it was the last paragraph of the article, a quote from researcher Lenda Jo Connell from Auburn University, that made me decide to write a post. She said, “Research shows that women tend not to say, ‘These manufacturers need to get off it and figure out good sizing that fits the American public,” Connell said. “They say, ‘I don’t fit the average size, and there’s something wrong with me.’ I think it’s really devastating to so many people.” (emphasis mine)

It IS devastating. Ellie probably can’t tell you the number of times I’ve have breakdowns in the middle of a store dressing room, or how many shirts I have that are slightly too big because it’s easier than worrying about the possibility of the little rolls on my back showing, or to hide the size and shape of my chest. I’d seriously wear super-strength sports bras all the time except I think they make me look worse than regular bras. The number 1 reason I don’t wear skirts other than when I dress up? Because it’s too much work to find shorts that will look okay under them, I don’t like the look of leggings, and spanx are too uncomfortable to wear unless I have to.I’ve essentially stopped wearing shorts because I’m so mentally and physically uncomfortable in them when I sit or walk. I try to avoid button-down blouses just in case there is gaping. I can’t go shopping alone because I will second, third, and fourth guess everything until I’m in a panic.

I’ll admit that I loathe my body. You name a part, and I hate it, except my eyes. Those are the 2 things on my entire body that can be seen without machines that don’t make me want to cry when looking at them. And I even want to replace those by getting Lasik.

Am I hideous? No, and I realize there are people out there with bigger problems, but it doesn’t make mine any less difficult to live with. I also know that I’m not alone, which makes me feel a little better, but fails to solve the problem, which is continually perpetuated and reinforced by media and designers.

Proving Again That I’m a Huge Geek

The other day, Ellie and I were chatting, and she said something about how “You prayed to Cupid and He gave me to you.” Of course, the silly pagan in me thought of the fact that we met via the site OKCupid, and the commonly-known Greek Eros, the god of love, who was conflated with the Roman Cupid.

I realize that not all of our lives are influenced by the gods, but I have come to realize it’s important to give Them honor when you think They have given you a blessing, just in case.

Waste Not, Want Not

The other day, Melia at 4 of Wands wrote an interesting post to spread the word about a new “fundraiser” being done by Lori Drake, whose blog is Warriors and Kin at the Pagan Newswire Collective. Here’s an excerpt from the Facebook page Lori created:

“This is a charity/fundraiser of sorts that doesn’t require anyone to show up in person, give money they don’t have, donate labor their bodies can’t handle or even represent one locality or another. All this campaign takes is a few extra moments of each person’s time, doing something they may already do. It only costs a stamp or two and an envelope, and I (Lori Dake) pretty much do the rest. And by us sending over these coupons, it helps military families on a very tight budget, and we do so without a Bible or any strings attached. All they know is the batch came from a bunch of Pagan folks. That’s all. I’m not including Scripture, or spells, or incense (though they do have a bit of an embedded dragon’s blood scent to them haha). If they wish to thank us, and of course that would be nice, there’s always a return address included and a sticky note thanking them for their service and sacrifices.

If you’d like to help out, please mail your coupons to:

Lori Dake – PNC Military
PO Box 306
Chicago, IL 60690-0306
United States

Send only manufacturer coupons (not in-store promotions), and no older than two months expired. Overseas commissaries accept them up to six months expired, but they still need time to get there and dispersed. “

Sending coupons to the troops is something that has gone around on the Girl Scout lists before and I keep forgetting about it. Well, no more. If I am going to be a member of the Board at Ethosian, and am truly going to live by the Girl Scout law to “use resources wisely,” then I am going to make this simple change in my life and hope some (if not all) of you will to. I like that Lori is doing this as a pagan fundraiser–there are too many out there that (rightfully) think pagans make hippies look right-wing, or are too caught up in the Otherworlds to pay attention to mundane life, or that we’re eating babies–this is a simple way to show that pagans and people of ‘alternative’ faiths are good people who want to do good for others.

You don’t have to be pagan to participate! You just can’t mind being lumped in with us

Facebook Fatigue

Why some dissatisfied users are shunning Facebook – CNN.com.

When I saw this article in my Google Reader today, I knew I had to read it, since I am absolutely feeling the Facebook Fatigue, and have been for several months. Part of this might be the fact that I’ve been out of school/work pretty much since March and Facebook has been a crazy life-suck. Yet, I barely do anything there–I’ve stopped playing games other than Scrabble, and only interact with a few people more than simply “liking” various statuses. I haven’t gotten to a point where I feel a desire to delete my account, but I AM very tempted to purge my “friends” because there are so many people that I never interact with (or vice-versa), some I don’t actually consider friends, and very often, as quoted in the article,

“It’s really gotten to a point where I know pretty much what my friends are going to post. They usually just write the same thing over and over again, and I am getting sick of that.”

Joshua DeRosa, a Salt Lake City graphic artist and former Facebook user, agrees.

“I don’t need to see pics or hear updates about people’s babies,” he says. “I know what babies look like, and while you might think what Junior did was the cutest thing ever, I couldn’t care less.”

I’m not begrudging people the fact that they have partners/kids/pets, but when your only content is about how “cute” your kid or pet is, or how much your life sucks, I just get angry. I’m “friends” with you on Facebook because I have some interest in being in touch with you. I KNOW there has to be more to your life than kid/pet/misery because lots of people are able to balance their “Facebook Life.” If you think I’m talking about you, take a look at your page, because I just might be.