Hope. Faith. Love.

Quest for modesty

2010-03-07T11:16:00.000-06:00

So I think that this might just end up as a set of ramblings/complaints about the world/myself. One of my biggest personel challenges right now has been my quest for modesty.

What is modesty?
How much is too much to show?
How much should I cover?
Where should my basis for this be?
How much should I consult my husband?

I am asking these questions because of a lot of what I see at University, but also (and mostly) what I see at Church. My husband and I, while devote Catholics, do not attend one specific Church but visit a different Church each week (all Catholic). We see women and young girls at these Churches, drawn up from conservative families, wearing inappropriate clothing at Church. I think that these ideas started with my also when I was trying to search for a modest wedding dress (as in, not strapless) and was getting very concerned. In the end, I found a seamstress who turned a beautiful white shawl with some beading into sleeves for me. My husband was not too concerned with what I wore that day, as he knew how hot it was going to be outside (we got married mid-summer) and was more concerned with me being comfortable. He knew that there was no way I could get by in longer sleeves. After the wedding, we went camping on our honeymoon. I found it challenging there to stay modest with a limited wardrobe and extreme heat. Once we got back from our honeymoon, it was time for us to be full time students again. On my first day back at school, I saw a girl actually wearing this to school-- a strapless black bathing suit with a sheer mini skirt. That's it!!! I couldn't believe it. Was I that out of touch with things that I had missed the fact that it was cool to wear your swimsuit to school?!? I was, at the time, wearing a mid-length skirt and t-shirt. I just couldn't believe the difference in outfits. I'm sure this young lady thought she looked very nice but so did I. As school kept going, I noticed how young women, especially unmarried women, would only dress up or dress modestly if they had some formal presentation or meeting with a proffesor. Other married students wore sweats and baggy clothes because 'they had no one they needed to impress'. When asked what I did one weekend, I told a friend that I had baked banana bread. His response was that I was so domestic, like it was something horrible that no one would ever choose.

Ok, so this brings me to New Years. My resolution this year was to try to wear skirts at least 4 days a week. I chose this because I find that skirts remind me that I am somehow different and set apart from my husband, while still one with him. I've found this to be a great challenge and have really enjoyed it. A couple of things that I have found challenging lately is getting shirts that are not too tight but have femininity. My usual rule is three fingers under the colar bone and four fingers across each shoulder. I have heard of different standards for what makes a modest shirt and this is the aspect that I find the most challenging. Another thing that I am finding challenging is including my husband in this process. I am trying to ask his opinion more and trying to brainstorm some ideas. I love asking his opinion as it is sometimes drastically different than mine. This is something that I definitely need to do more of. I am planning on only wearing skirts once we move in a few months. I am actually really exciting about this. Any suggestions/questions. I would love to hear any feedback!! Let me know!

A Sick Day

2010-03-02T15:14:00.000-06:00

Today is my first sick day in a long time. It's actually been kind of nice because I took a day to work through some reasearch I need to do for my papers this semester. The paper that I worked on the most today is for my history class called "The History of the Failure of Development". I am writting my paper on the intersection of post-Vatican II documents and the beautiful social justice teachings of the Catholic church. I am loving getting to read these beautiful books that I have been meaning to look at for such a long time. Like one of them that I just finished reading says, the Church's beautiful social teachings are often only cited as critiques and not as a moral compass by social and political leaders of our time.
How wonderful it would be if only we could live by the idea that subsistence living was a goal to be met by all. Yesterday, my husband said something that made me very happy and that I am hoping to live by soon-- he asked that, once we move in May, that we try to live by a more locally produced, sustainable, and organic diet. I loved the sound of that. I think the change in his opinion is stemming from the fact that, for once, we will not be students and will be more available to purchase this wonderful fod source. I think we are also seeing all the garbage we put into our bodies and realizing that now is the time to cut all that stuff out. We are starting to see our parents and the results of some of the choices they have made and want to make different choices for our own lives. I guess what makes me the most excited about all of this is that it would be a goal that my husband and I could work towards together. While I do most of the cooking, he has a large say in what I create and how our budget is spent. It think that learning to use more local ingrediens would require more creativity on my part but also some budget creativity on his part. I will hopefully keep you posted as to how things go once we make the move!

A Half-Aversary

2010-02-23T19:56:00.001-06:00

Hi all,
We had a very exciting day yesterday in our household-- it was our 'half-aversary' as my husband so dubbed it! It was 6 months ago yesterday that we got married! I can't believe how quickly time has flown by. I know that it might seen ridiculous to celebrate such a small half-aversary but my husband just loves celebrating any kind of commemorative event. I get reminded almost every month of the first day we met, when we started dating, got married, etc. And it's amazing because we met 3 years ago. I have a horrible memory and so I can barely remember that sort of stuff and am grateful that he has such a wonderful memory. I always tell him that he will have to remind me of things when we are older, even if his memory goes first! Since we are both students, I figured I should try to show him that I love him pretty cheaply and decided to make some cupcakes. The best way to show someone you love them, for me anyway, is to spend time thinking of them and doing things for them. I spent three hours tweezering sprinkles onto the cupcakes so they spelt 'Happy 6 Months'. Why tweezers? Little sprinkles are so tough to pick up but looked to great on the cupcakes. My husband, of course, showed me up and brought home the same flowers that we had on our wedding. He took some time out from a project he has been working on to get them and come home early. I was still in my skirt from work and wanted to go change. After a few kisses, I went to the bedroom to change. He came in and asked it I was actually happy with the flowers (which I was) and he said that if I hadn't been, that he had a back-up present. I absolutely cannot stand surprises (someday I'll tell you about the day he proposed) and asked him if would tell me what the backup present was. He passed me this little gold box with a necklace in it with a pearl on it (like from our wedding as well)! Seriously, could this man be any more amazing! Sometimes I can be so frustrated with him, but it's moments like these that make it all better! I can't believe some days that I get to hold him tight and be with him!!! It's so nice that he remembers these little 'half-aversaries' and I can't wait until the next one!

What a day at work.

2010-02-22T17:00:00.000-06:00

Day of Ignorance by the General Public.

That's what we named this week while I was at work today. As well as being a full time student, I also work enough during the week to pay for our food and bills during the school year. Since I am a student, I pretty much have no rights/benefits at work and am placed in any job they need me at (whether I am qualified or not). Also, because I work for the federal government in Canada, my job can be pretty boring and repetitive at times. It was a tough day because I was training a temp worker because one of my coworkers is on stress leave. It turns out that my coworker came back early and we had to fire the temp worker after just one day. I felt like such a jerk. Especially because he was learning so quickly. I guess that's life. And I'm glad that my coworker is back. I'll be back there on Wednesday and I am really hoping that it goes better.

As for life at home, my husband is working on his major graduation project due this week and so I won't be seeing much of him in the next few days. I guess my approach is going to be to have a hot supper ready when he is home and to make life as stress-free as possible for him. I haven't exactly been easy for him to deal with lately and so hopefully this will help!

First Post

2010-02-21T15:35:00.000-06:00

Hi all,

My name is Laurie and this is my first ever blog post. I've found a lot of blogs really helpful lately and figured that I would give it a try. There are going to be a lot of changes going on in my life in the next little bit and am hoping that this blog might help me make sense of it all. I am in my last year of my undergraduate degree and am looking forward to moving to a small town in a few months. My husband has a job in this small town, and I am currently writting up some applications for jobs. It is the same small town that I grew up in and so it'll be kinda nice to go back. I will keep you all posted as to how things are going. For now, I'm going to relax for a few more minutes then go do a load of dishes and maybe get some supper ready. Tomorrow is our 6 month wedding anniversary. This is a picture of my handsome husband and I the summer before our wedding!