Get to know me, a top 10 of loves and hates, and an issue close to my heart.

Top 10 loves..
10. Knitting: It relaxes me and I always feel accomplished when a project is done.

9. Cooking: Baking or cooking a meal, I love the process and the feeling that it gives me when people enjoy something I have made. Unfortunately, I enjoy eating it as much as making it.


8. Books: I love to read. And not just books... If I am bored, and there is no books around me, I will read what ever is around, whether it be the back of a shampoo bottle, or the back of a cereal box.


7. Movies: Though it is been hard for me to keep up with new releases due to having small children, and due to no time for myself to go to a theater, or even rent, I love the pure escapism that movies represent. I know it is debatable, but I find escapism, in moderation, an important part of mental health.


6. Silliness: Also important to ones mental health is the ability to just have a bit of fun, to laugh at the small things from time to time, instead of letting them stress you out. The ability to have fun with your kids, pets, family, and/or friends, be playful, and laugh with them.


5. Sleep: It is on my list, because I miss it. I don't get much of it anymore, and, not only is it not healthy to be sleep deprived, it is also not very good for the general satisfaction of daily living.


4. The outdoors: I can not stay inside for very long. I go stir crazy very quickly. I very much wish that I lived somewhere that was conducive to outdoor activities for more of the year, as I am not very tolerant of the heat. Which brings me to....


3. Fall and Spring: I am happiest during these short, transitional seasons. Here in Georgia, as well as in Texas, the summers are very unforgiving and it makes it hard to go outside. Winters are varying, it seems, here in Savannah, but in Texas, they tend to be wet and miserable. The spring is so beautiful with all the flowers and the perfect weather, and there is just something so special about fall.. I love the way it smells...


2. My family: My children are my reason for living. It is afairly standard statement that is said by most mothers, as it should be, but it hardley makes it any less true. I didn't know how to live life before I had them. They have made me a better human being. My parents are a rock I can rest on emotionally, and I cherish them and all they have done for me. I am thankful that I have my sister in my life. She is an amazing human being. She is stubborn, beautiful, funny, strong, and I am blessed that I have gotten to a place in life that we can, again, be friends.


1. God: I am not very vocal about it, nor do I tend to advertise it, but there is no denying that God has a very special place in my life. I am a Christian. I go to church every Sunday, my children are actively involved in the church's youth group, I value the quiet times that I spend with the Lord, I cry when the choir sings and it sturs my soul, I consider a good sermon one that leaves me sobbing with joy, or compassion, in my pew, and the Christmas Eve candle light service (or midnight mass if I get the chance to go to one) is my favorite, because it always leaves me with goosebumps. I believe in living with the compassion of Christ in your heart, doing whatever you can to help and show love to your fellow man. I also believe that those of other religions have just as much of a right to revel in the beauty of their religions, as I do in mine. After all, it is the same God. I just believe, with all my heart, that His son died for my sins. That is the only difference. I accept people of all faiths and beliefs to be my friends and enjoy learning about their views and what moves them. I will never ridicule anyone and ask that no one ridicule me.


Top 10 things I hate...


10. Having to wear shoes: Which is actually somewhat paradoxical, because I adore shoes. My feet are just naturally hot and so I don't wear them often, and because of that, I am not used to the feel of them on my feet, so I find them uncomfortable.


9. Pain: Ok.. I know no one (or mostly no one) likes to feel pain, but I am actually, to much comic expense on my part, known for my wimpiness. Other than having babies, I have never handled pain well.


8. Sports announcers: It isn't sports I can't tolerate. I actually like watching the sports themselves, with the exception of golf. Although, they are coming out with some really good looking golfers these days, but I digress. I can't stand the way the announcers talk. I can not give you a good reason why, other than it just, definitely, does not float my boat. I would much rather listen the sounds of the sports themselves. Like the squeaking of basketball shoes on the court, or the thuds of American football players bashing into each other. That may actually be the only advantage that televised golf has, according to me, over the other sports.... The announcers whisper.


7. Tuna: Yeah, not much to say here. Just not a fan.


6. Laundry: You wash, and wash, and wash, and it never ends... ever.


5. Dishes: See above


4. The majority of my tattoos: Shoulda listened to Mom. But  really, it was an ugly time 
in my life and they are ugly tattoos, and there is nothing I can do to change either. Just do my best to accept that part of me and move on.


3. Stubborn ignorance: Ignorance in itself is okay, because it is something that is fixed through enlightenment. Unintentional ignorance is something that, by it's very nature, is something you are unaware of being uninformed about. It is the absolute refusal to educate yourself about something because, in doing so, you would have to change something you believe to be true that is so atrocious to me. Be it something you hate that you would no longer be able to hate, something that you love that you would no longer be able to love, or something that you have refused to learn about, because then you would have to actually do something that benefits someone other than yourself, or just simply because you can't stand to be wrong.


2. Intolerance: A lot of this goes right back to stubborn ignorance. As we are all taught at a young age, most intolerance is the child of ignorance. I could write a whole novel on why intolerance bothers me, but I will leave it simply like this; we are, for the most part, all just trying to get through our lives in the best way we know how. It is not for us to judge those whose lives we do not understand, but to try to come together as a society and help each other get through it together.


1. Labeling: This one goes right back to numbers two and three. The purposeful labeling of anyone, in any way, in order to hurt or defame them, is wrong. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. To take who they are as a whole of a person, and then demoralize and belittle them, to fit them into a single generalizing word used to make them less than who they really are, is wrong. Be that because of race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender, body size, or promiscuity. You can disagree with what they do in life. You don't even have to like every thing they do in life. But to humiliate, hurt, and demoralize them, is not okay. One of the ones that stick out for me, although they all ruffle my feathers, is the labeling of women, especially by other women. We are judged enough by the double standards set by society. We shouldn't be making it worse by following along with the crowd. I often will hear of a girl or woman who is promiscuous or just dresses immodestly, or worse, just simply isn't liked by the person talking about them, and inevitably, she will be called a slut, or some variation there of. This is a horrible and hurtful slur. When it comes to the life-style of promiscuity, I can tell you through personal experience, and through getting to know, and listening to, women from all walks of life, no woman/girl really wants to be in that life-style. It is an ugly, dark place, filled with pain and self hate that is so debilitating, that you can not possibly understand it unless you know how it feels. I have never met a young lady, or an adult woman, who is sexually promiscuous because they just simply want to be. (And just for argument sake, let's say there is a few, that choice is not ours to judge.. bu if there is any, it is a very few.) There is always a core issue, a lot of times stemming from sexual abuse/violence, that brings them to a place where they simply can not see beyond their own self hate and pain, and that causes them to reach out in unhealthy ways to desperately find someone to care about them, to love them, to acknowledge them as being worth something. Anything. When looking at these girls and women, it is so important to remember that they are hurting. There is already enough self-hate there, that to add to the hate by demoralizing them, or shaming them, does nothing but hurt them further. It would be as if you were to walk up to a chained and abused animal and kicked it in the head. It is an ugliness that further deepens the cause of the behavior. What these girls need is real help. They need real love. They don't need sneers of disgust. The worst part of this type of prejudicial behavior towards these women, is that it is one of the few prejudices that is still socially acceptable, if not socially encouraged. One of the things I want to do in my life, is work, through the form of ministry, to raise awareness, and provide the help, guidance, and love that these women need to get to a place where they can start to be whole again. I was blessed to have found my way out of that darkness, and I can see, with a first hand experience, the pain and hurt that these women go through, so I think I could really start to make a difference in the way they are viewed, and the way they are treated.
So.. if you have read through this whole thing, thanks! You now know a bit more about me. It is just the surface of the pond, but it is a start. I think I am a pretty good friend to have. I have been through a lot and have lots of compassion and friendship to give. Peace and Love to all of you!
-Sarah