Did you know yesterday was
International Women's Day? Did you have a celebration? Or reflect on all the amazing women in your life? I must admit, I had never heard of the occasion until yesterday. But now that I know about it, I hope to have an annual celebration.
Last night I went to a Girl's Night Out celebration. It was so great. Our evening started with an hour of yoga, followed by an assortment of delicious salads, soups, and breads. While we ate chocolate mousse for desert we soaked our feet in a salt bath. It was heaven!
In honor of International Women's Day we talked about the many women we admire and qualities we would like to emulate. Who are some the women you admire? Why? What does it mean to be a woman? I love being a mother, but isn't it great to think of womanhood apart from motherhood? Sometimes it is difficult to separate the two, especially after you become a mother, but I think it is important to remember what makes us - us! Do we take time to remember who we are as people - our likes, our talents, our goals, our dreams? Or do we let ourselves become so consumed and overwhelmed with dirty diapers, dishes to wash, laundry to be done, food to be prepared, etc that we get lost in our lives?
To be a woman is such an incredible thing! We have so much strength, goodness, and power inside us.
Here are three woman that have greatly impacted my life and why:
1.
My mom - for giving birth to me (which wasn't easy), for raising me (which wasn't easy either), teaching me, instilling in me a love of learning and education, for her patience, faith, and foresight during the teenage years, for all her sacrifices, and for the good woman that she is.
2.
My aunt Gayle - for being such a strength and example to me at such a critical time in my life (the awful transition from being a teenager to becoming an adult); for knowing just what to say, and when to not say anything at all; for giving me advice, and then backing away while I made my own decisions.
3.
Professor Giralt - for showing me that a woman can have a family and reach her educational/career goals while still maintaining balance; for encouraging me to reach outside my comfort zone and to stretch my goals. One day soon I hope to put into practice the things I learned from her, and return to school.
Today she was playing in her corner while I put away a load of laundry. When I finished I went over to see what she was doing. She had pulled nearly every book off the shelves and was deeply engrossed in "reading" one of them. Not even me pulling out the camera and taking pictures could distract her from the pictures on the pages. It was too cute!
Did you know yesterday was International Women's Day? Did you have a celebration? Or reflect on all the amazing women in your life? I must admit, I had never heard of the occasion until yesterday. But now that I know about it, I hope to have an annual celebration. 
I love oatmeal! It's a love passed on to me by my mom. Winter, spring, summer, fall - my favorite breakfast is a bowl of hot oatmeal. I love the simplicity of it. I boil the water, add the oats (old fashioned oats - of course, none of the instant stuff), as I stir I watch as a handful of dried oats, magically transforms into a bowl of hot, delicious cereal. Add a little brown sugar, fruit, and cover with soy milk. Just talking about it would make my mouth water, except that I just finished eating my bowl for the day :) I cannot comprehend why anyone would not like oatmeal. For months I have been telling myself that Antalya loves oatmeal as much as I do - that it was the only thing she would eat for breakfast - that if she didn't start her day with oatmeal, how would she possibly get all the nutrients she needs during the day? I knew all along that she hated oatmeal. In fact as soon as the texture touches her tongue, she quickly spits it all out - occasionally landing in my face. I would ignore it and insist that she REALLY wants to be eating it. I tried many different ways, oatmeal with yogurt, oatmeal with cold cereal, instant, flavored oatmeal, oatmeal with lots of sugar, balls of oatmeal that she could pick up and feed herself. But the truth of the matter was that she did not like oatmeal! It didn't matter how I tried to deceive her or alter it's form, she just didn't like it. This past week I finally resigned myself to the fact that I am the only one in this house who likes to eat oatmeal. It was a great, liberating moment! Now when I sit down with my bowl of oatmeal in the morning, it is just me! No worries about making Antalya eat it, no thoughts of having to share, just me and my breakfast! (FYI Antalya now enjoys a piece of nine grain toast with her morning fruit. She loves it! She even asked for more!)
I'm still waiting for day when Antalya has enough hair for two little pigtails. In the mean time, she sure has one cute pigtail right on top!
