It's Official . . .

. . . school has started!

Actually, school started for Jason and Lindsey on Monday (Aug. 22).  But for the Entheos kids and for me, today is the day.  It actually felt good to be driving the kids to school—well, I realized it on the way home.  I guess it's good to be back into a "normal" routine.

For me . . . I only have one class today:  Stress Management.  (That's gotta be a good one for me!)  I'm also signed up for Meditation, Knitwear, Embellishment (how to decorate clothing, not how to make up fancy lies), and Bridal/Evening Wear.  I don't have a model for Bridal yet—this could be a problem.  Know anyone who needs a formal dress?

I'm sort of, maybe a tiny, itty-bitty little bit ready to get back to school.  Possibly. 

I'm still a little burned out from summer semester, and my house hasn't really recovered from my being gone all the time. And I really want to paint my living room and the rest of the kitchen.  And reupholster my couches, and tear out and redo the fireplace.  And I just re-discovered how much I like to cook for my family when I actually have time to think about what to make and do it.  But if I don't think too hard about all that stuff, I'm a little bit excited to start school. 

And who knows?  Stress Management and Meditation may be just what I need.

Girls and Boys

Last Sunday, after church, Bruce told me that the scouts needed another adult to go with them on their Friday night camping trip. Normally I don't like Bruce to go away over night; I don't sleep well when he's gone.  But with Ryan—my youngest boy—in scouts now I saw a little opportunity shining on the horizon:  Brandon and Ryan would both be on the campout; Jason would be invited, too.  The scouts are never loathe to have an extra adult leader, and Michael—an Eagle Scout—is now old enough to go as an adult.  Could it be that I could get rid of all my men (half my family!) and just have a girl's night at home?

Yes!  It could be!  Friday afternoon all my men went on the campout and the girls and I stayed behind to play together.

First I dyed my hair—and my eyebrows, too.  (That's a very girly thing to do.)  I'd been planning to color it back to my original, real color, and I think I got pretty close.  It's darker than I expected, but when it's pulled into a ponytail the roots look right (sans gray).

Then we went and got my sister Melanie and her daughter Emalee (whose home was also short on testosterone Friday night) and we went to Jordan Park for a picnic.  Sandwiches, strawberries, string cheese, rice fritters, and cold water—nice!  While at the park we toured the world at the International Peace Gardens.



in front of the Japan Peace Garden

Back at Melanie's house the girls played tag in the dark for a little while.  Then my girls and I came home to have mint Oreo milkshakes and watch How to Train Your Dragon.  We brought the little girls' mattresses and bedding up into the living room.  I, of course, fell asleep about one-third of the way into the movie, and slept for about a third of it.  After the show Lindsey and I went to bed in our own rooms and the little girls camped in the living room.

movie and living room campout

Saturday morning we had a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, with strawberry-banana smoothies.  Mmmm!  Then we cleaned up the house in preparation for more fun.  I was hoping that my PELL money would be here by this morning so we could go shopping—that would have been very girly fun!  But, no.

The boys all got back around 11:30 that morning.  They just had canned chili for dinner, and French toast for breakfast.  Here's what they had to say about their trip:"They didn't plan anything interesting to do."  "There was lots of dirt and bugs."  And Bruce said, "By the way, a cooler full of ice and sodas is lots of fun."

Jason and Michael hiked to a big rock

They are all smiling and cheerful, so maybe sleeping on the ground with dirt and bugs—and drinking lots of cold soda—equates to great fun for guys.  Or maybe they're just glad to be home, since they're all saying that the scouts didn't plan anything—not even a hike.

Brandon sleeps under a log

I think the girls won this round.

Fine!

We attempt to take our family to the library once a week.  Sometimes we are awesome!  Sometimes we are less than awesome.  Unfortunately, those less than awesome times add up.  Between the ten of us we rack up enough in fines to keep the county library system running.

But today Bruce had a thought:  Each of us can check out 30 books at a time.  That means that if all ten of us took our limit, we'd bring home 300 books—that's a lot of books!  So we could bring home all these library books and then sell them on e-bay.  Hmmmm.

The question is this:  Could we sell the books for enough to cover the library's replacement fees and still make a profit? ;-)

Corsets Make Fashion a Cinch!

When you imagine a corset what is the first thing that comes to mind?  A medieval torture device?  Victorian women covered in high-necked gowns? Or, at best, perhaps a boudoir fetish?  The corset, a bit of steel-reinforced fabric held together with lacing, may sound unappealing to Modern Woman.  But in the areas of fashion, health, and lifestyle, what does the modern western woman want? 

It is likely that very few mainstream women would consider wearing this classic garment even as a Halloween costume, let alone on a day-to-day basis. Yet from Japan to Greece, from Paris to New York, the corset has been making little appearances in the fashion world throughout much of the last century. This little item of clothing may just be the perfect fit for Modern Woman, giving her high fashion, a strong figure and more feminine curves. Should she demand the return of  the corset to fulfill her beauty and fashion needs?           

The corset has been accused of many evils from broken ribs to ruptured organs.  It sounds grisly but, in reality, it’s not so bad.  In her 2001 article, Corseting the Human Body, Dr. Ann Beaumont states, “It is safe to assume that the corset evils were a reflection of the limited knowledge of medicine during the tightlacing era. … Our modern, more accurate knowledge allows us to separate true corset effects from arbitrary ones.”

Dr. Beaumont further explains that although injuries could occur from corseting—if the corset is “laced to extreme and brutish constriction,” such injuries are highly unlikely.  Certainly if you ignore true pain—from a toothache to shallow breathing—you’re going to regret it, but for normal, fashionable wear even a very tight corset is safe and actually has some health benefits.  “Primarily, the increase in [intra abdominal pressure] helps to support the spine and,” Dr. Beaumont continues, “the corset, when tight enough, will resist bending and thus avoid back injuries.”           

So let’s consider that well-supported and stabilized spine.  The instant Modern Woman gets into her corset her posture improves.  According to the website, figuretraining.com, if she hides her corset under a “fashionable, tight-fitting suit … [a] small-waisted blazer that reach[es] below the hips…[she will] look very good with a corset.”  Indeed, she has no choice but to have a beautiful, straight back, making her a vision of strength and powerful elegance. Her upright posture will make others see her as “self-confident and resolute.”  Certainly this is a better choice than sitting hunched over, encouraging her dowager’s hump to grow, or slouching off to Wal-Mart to buy another tube-top.           

After work, Modern Woman may want an evening with her main squeeze.  No longer your great-granny’s white cotton underwear, corsets are now made of anything from denim to silk, in prints or solid colors, and in all the shades of the color wheel.  They can now be used as outerwear and corset-dresses are showing up in the fashion world on brides, on actresses, and on the Red Carpet.  Once Modern Woman removes her work-day blazer she’ll be ready for a night on the town because that corset isn’t just sexy in the bedroom!  It is the ultimate in push-up bras, offering her more support and sex-appeal than Victoria’s Secret. Her man may not notice her terrific posture now so much as her amazing figure.           

And here’s a little side-effect of corseting that Modern Woman would surely welcome: she might just lose some weight. The website orchardcorset.com., in Corset Wearing—Risks and Benefits, tells us that “When worn for extended periods of time on a regular basis…corsets can maintain abdominal pressure that, over time, will reduce body fat by suppressing appetite and reducing the waistline.”  While tying up that bit of fabric, steel, and lacing will immediately alter her waist-to-hip ratio, over time it could transform her figure from an average 37-32-38 to an attractive 37-28-38.  Dr Beaumont tells us that it also “counteracts the effects of gravity and…tends to restore a more ‘youthful’ figure.”           

To tie this all together, while a corset makes Modern Woman come across as stronger and more confident, it also makes her look thinner, curvier, and more sexy.  At the same time, it supports her spine and discourages overeating.  She can say goodbye to that muffin-top, accompanied by breasts spilling out of a spaghetti-strapped cami, and say hello to femininity!  Can Modern Woman get what she wants in health, fashion, and lifestyle?  With a corset, it’s a cinch!

Summer Grades

Well, after all my sweat, tears, and griping, my grades are in.  And here they are:

Summer Grades

 All A's again!  (sort of) :-)

On the last day of class, our corset teacher said we all got A's, so that was no big surprise. 
The gym classes—pretty much all you had to do was show up and work and that got you an A.  (Flexibility for Fitness was my very favorite class this semester, by the way.) 
I was pretty sure I'd get an A in English. When my work was returned to me, my English teacher had written this note to me:  "It has been a pleasure having you in class.  I see so much talent in your writing voice and choice of topics.  Keep writing!  :-)"  (Except the smiley face she drew was not sideways.)  She also asked for copies of all my papers to use as samples.  I enjoyed that class, and her very nice comments made me feel very good! 


But it was the Algebra class I was worried about—as you will probably recall.  Immediately after my math final, my teacher graded the test and then calculated my grades for me; I just fell short of an A- ... I had a B+.   I guess she took pity on me though (after all my sweat, tears, and griping), and bumped it up to A-. Yay!!  :-)

So there it is.  And I am very happy.  And not at all ready to start back in a week and a half.  But I'm signed up, and maybe the next week or so will see me ready for back to school.  They say stranger things have happened.