I CAN CABLE!!!!!!!

I learned to cable knit yesterday.
Well, okay a couple of weeks ago, I figured out how to do it from a YouTube video. Go YouTube!
Then I found this pattern on Ravelry.
So Wednesday, I bought yarn and needles for it. And I cast on yesterday.














And now, I have a little scarf growing. And it has cables. I'm freaking proud of myself.

Tuesdays

I love Tuesdays. This semester, Tuesdays are my favorite days. Mondays, I have three classes and women's group every other week. Wednesdays, I have three classes and UCO. Thursdays, I work and then go to class. Friday, I work and then go to class again. Both of these days I get up obscenely early and greet the sun while cleaning frost off my car. I work every other Saturday. This Saturday, in addition to working, I'm taking the Michigan Basic Skills Test so that I can become a teacher. I'm not saying that any of these things are bad. I'm just saying that as an INFJ, I like having some time to myself, my crocheting, my books, and my tea.
Sundays are good days but they are different. They are for prayer, reflection, and recovery. They are not for studying.
But Tuesdays are for studying and relaxing and reading and crocheting and knitting and grocery shopping. I have one class on Tuesdays and I get paid every other Tuesday. Aren't Tuesdays starting to look attractive?
Today, I went and picked up my paycheck. (Thanks, Grand Valley!) I quickly deposited it in the convenient on-campus ATM for my bank. Then I went to class (American Literature until Walt Whitman) and crocheted my way through class-per usual. After class, I went over to the library and checked out Dostoevsky's The Idiot. I've decided to read it. I haven't started yet-been busy with other things. But I'm looking forward to it; I like Russian novels in general, especially Dostoevsky.
After this, I went home and ate lunch; it now being about 2:45pm. After this, I did some grocery shopping and came home. And then, I started in on my homework. This is why I love Tuesdays. I can do homework in peace and no one bothers me...
Until Kyle sends me a text message asking me to go to some "dumb meeting" for UCO at 9pm. "All you have to do is sign your name," quoth he. But basically, I was the only one who could go.
Right...way to ruin my Tuesday, Kyle. I love my Tuesdays because they're MINE...my own, my precious...
Okay, Gollum, stop it.
And then it turned out that Kyle made a mistake and the meeting was yesterday. So I got to keep my Tuesday to myself.
So I made dinner. I'm a bit proud of this. I baked a chicken breast with sliced apples, potatoes, and onions-all of which I sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar. First off, it was delicious. And secondly, I have leftovers! Leftovers are clutch because tomorrow I have three classes, I'm volunteering at the GVSU Study Abroad Fair, Nicole and I are going yarn shopping, and then there's UCO. I think something/someone ate my Wednesday. But I'm sure it will be a great day. I have great confidence. But the leftovers are great because I won't have much time to make lunch or dinner tomorrow.
But I've gotten a good chunk of homework done. I've found a knitting pattern with which I'm going to practice cable knitting; it's supposed to be the ideal beginning cable pattern-SCORE! And now, I'm sitting in bed listening to the Servants of the Word's CD, "Sing a New Song to the Lord." I might start reading The Idiot now. Or I could do my American Lit homework for Thursday. Or I could do one and then the other.
That, my friends, is the beauty of Tuesday.
(Parenthetically, Tuesdays will probably not be my favorite day of the week next semester. C'est la vie.)

What is your favorite day of the week?

Book Review: Sophia House

So you probably don't remember this but back in March I read and reviewed a book called Father Elijah: an Apocalypse. The book amazed me and thrilled me.
Over the summer, I borrowed the other books in the series (Children of the Last Days) from Dr. F-Strangers and Sojourners and Eclipse of the Sun were the two that really stuck with me. (They both get 4.5 out of 5 from me.)
This past weekend, I borrowed Sophia House from the good doctor. I read it quickly...probably to the detriment of my American Literature and Modern Spanish Novel studies. Oh well...I only have one class tomorrow. I can read then. This book really touched me.
It was not perfect. But it was good. Set in the 1930s and 1940s, it explores Pawel Tarnowski, a Polish Catholic, who protects the young David Schafer, a Jewish teenager who will one day become the Father Elijah of the first book in the series. It explores Pawel's faith journey and David's childhood. And it does get into the social/political situation of Europe on the eve of World War II and during the war. It's really intriguing and insightful.
It does explore some really rough issues. It is decidedly not for children. It tackles sexual assault and the struggles/temptations against/towards homosexual behavior.
But it is a good book. And I recommend it.
I give it 4.5 out of 5.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

So...I finally finished Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Quirk Classic's latest literary contribution to the world, last night.
I give it four out of five. It was good and funny. It did a relatively good job of holding true to the original story. But it just wasn't as good as P&P&Z. I did enjoy it and it's definitely worth a read and a laugh.
Like I said with P&P&Z, if you think it's heresy, don't read it. But if you want a good laugh, go for it.

Do Not Neglect the Gift that is in You

For my Modern Spanish Novels class, I am currently reading and writing summaries of five articles evaluating the life and writing of Carmen de Burgos, a Spanish writer who lived from 1867-1932. She is known for her feminism and her work for women's rights. As I read these articles, I read about various individuals' commitments to feminism and all the rights that women supposedly need to have. Yes, we need to have the same rights as men. But we all need to have our rights based on three ideas:
1) My rights end where yours begin; if doing what I want to do hurts you, then I can't do it.
2) All of our rights come from God. We were made for him and by him.
3) We live not for ourselves but for the Lord.

But on to feminism, I know that women needed rights in the early 20th century. I know that things were very different. But I think that now (in 2009) feminism has gone too far. I am criticized by people I know for my desire to "just" (as one friend put it) be a teacher or my desire to be a stay-at-home mom someday. As a 21st century, I should want more. I should do more. I can be more than "just" a teacher and a mother.
Feminism has liberated me from the proverbial kitchen; it just didn't realize that I wanted to be in the kitchen.
I see being a teacher and a wife and a mother as more than simple jobs or roles in the society. I see them as callings from God, vocations. And I see them as vastly important vocations that are absolutely necessary for the survival of our faith.
Motherhood...what higher calling is there for a woman? What woman has been more exalted by God than his own mother? In my humble opinion, Mary is our model, our rule. And as she said "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord! May it be done unto me according to your word." (Lk 1:38) and "Whatever He says to you, do it." (Jn. 2: 5)
That is our rule. As women, we are called to submit to the Lord's will. And for me, that means following in the footsteps of a woman who was called "blessed among women" (Lk 1:42).

And teaching? That one (to my way of thinking) is Scriptural. We are called to teach and to educate in the Word of God. But this verse has always struck me: "Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment." (James 3:1) I know it refers to spiritual teaching. But in today's world, I think that going out as a teacher means that I will be teaching my subject matter but also teaching with my way of life.
As Paul told Timothy, "Do not neglect the gift that is in you..." (I Tim.4:14).