It's been too long since I've blogged. I seem to be the queen of launching blogs and abandoning them. Thank goodness I don't parent this way!
Two things:
1) I said in one of my first posts that I have a way of becoming very passionate about a new interest, delving into it 110%, then dumping it like a hot potato for something else. I used to think it was a character flaw, but I'm finally beginning to see that it's just a thing about me, and it's okay. After all, my fleeting passions are always very harmless, and always very fulfilling during my entrenchment in them.
For instance, within the past several years, I've been extremely focused on the following, but only one at a time:
- rubber stamping & card making
- scrapbooking
- tarot cards
- breadmaking
- gardening (this one lasted about a week)
- Flylady (see www.flylady.com for info on what this is)
- walking
- running
- sewing
- shoes
- painting
- retro furniture
- vintage clothing
- dieting/weight loss (I keep coming back to this one)
- particular genres of literature
- blogging (I thought this one should get a laugh.)
So what am I into now?
It began with head coverings. I was momentarily curious about how Muslim women wore their hijabs, so I had a few minutes between things at work, so I googled it. Well, this led me to website after website of extremely fascinating things. There are very conservative hijabs, very elegant and ornate hijabs, very cute & youthful hijabs, and a whole array of accessories from under-hijab headcovers to hijab pins.
This led me to modesty websites - yes, they exist! They're predominantly for Jewish, Christian, and Muslim women.
Then I meandered over to the Jewish sites. I watched a video demonstrating 6 ways to tie a headscarf (tichel), I saw all kinds of snoods and caps, and read articles on why married Jewish women should cover their hair.
And then I bought 5 scarves and 3 snoods.
Here are the snoods I bought: SNOODS
Then I began to look at modest clothing, and I became quite excited. If you know me personally, you know I don't have an easy-to-fit body. I'm tall and I tend to carry my weight in my belly. I have a very square figure. The cute empire waist shirts du jour really don't flatter me - they make me look pregnant. And I really, really need a top to go at least as low as my crotch. If they hit anywhere higher, they jut out at the belly.
Most women's tops at the Muslim sites seem to do just that - they go down nice & low . . .
Which somehow led me to Kurta sites, which are Indian tunics. To see what I mean, go here: KURTI-BLOUSES
And of course, this led me to SALWAR KAMEEZ, which I think is an absolutely beautiful way of dressing.
Which led me to SHOES! With shoes like these, who would be looking at my belly anyway? Check these out: KHUSSA SHOES
Well, then I had to get back to work. But at home for the next few days, I feverishly raked through all kinds of websites and have decided that I need to incorporate some of these elements into my style. Clearly the clothes I want and need are not available off the rack at Sears - ha ha . . .
Which brings me to the title of this blog post.
My name is Chandra, which is a Sanskrit name, and in India, is often all or part of a surname. I knew in my heart that I was a vegetarian before I even knew there was a word for such a thing. My favorite cuisine has been Indian cuisine for most of my life.
(Sideline to brag - two weeks ago, I made naan for the very first time, and last week I made rockin' eggplant bartha. I love me!)
I was born in a small town in northwest Ohio. What the hell is all this about, anyway? One might say I just want attention or I want to be exotic and different and sophisticated - sure, I've wanted those things for my whole Caucasion, Midwestern life.
But these are the real reasons. The real reasons are:
I think most non-Caucasion (for lack of a better word) cuisines totally leave White People food in the dust.
I think most non-Western forms of dress are far more beautiful than the stuff we're expected to buy and wear. Even a plain abaya has a sweeping grace that a typical ladies office outfit can never achieve.
I think revealing styles aren't that attractive. I don't like seeing a woman's leg almost all the way up to her tochus. I don't even like seeing most women's upper arms. I don't like those sleeveless things that allow us to see right into their armpits.
Of course, I believe that attire is a matter of choice, so I would certainly never want society to go all Taliban and demand the complete invisibility of women. I'm merely commenting on my own personal preferences.
So I figure my soul was switched at birth.
Somewhere in India, a woman was born in 1963, and her parents named her Lisa because it seemed hip and exotic. (Lisa was the most common girl baby name in the U.S. in 1963, the year I was born.) And in a small town in Ohio, some American parents felt the same way about the name "Chandra."
Chandra wouldn't eat her meat on her plate, and tried to live on side dishes. Lisa pushed the dal away and demanded a hamburger. Chandra wore long skirts in high school and went through a period where she refused to wear makeup. Her parents worried about her. Lisa insisted on wearing jeans and lipstick. Her parents worried about her.
I wonder if Lisa ever made it to the States.
Okay, that's the first topic. (Remember way at the beginning of this post when I said I was going to cover 2 topics?)
2) It's time for a gratitude check. I'd like to list 10 things I'm extremely grateful for.
Not necessarily in order, but here we go:
1. My daughter. (I'm tempted to list this 10 times.)
2. My health
3. We have plenty of food, and we have access to more food.
4. In this time of rising fuel costs, I can still put gas in my car and go places.
5. We have hot and cold running water. Man, doesn't that make life a breeze! When I start to focus on life's little inconveniences, I imagine what it must be like for people who have to carry water for drinking, cooking, washing, etc. And the water might not even be clean.
6. I live in a country where I can wear what I want. I could wear a burqa if I wanted to. But it would be my choice. No law says I must wear one. I can also wear a bikini (although it wouldn't be pretty) if I wanted to.
7. My husband. He's my best friend and buddy. And he makes really good coffee.
8. Really good coffee. I grew up in an era and a place where nobody knew the difference. We drank instant, fer cryin' out loud. Once you've had freshly ground, really good coffee, you never want to go back.
9. My mobility. I'm feeling the creep of age and severe lack of fitness catch up with me. I need to be grateful for the mobility I have, AND I need to maximize that.
10. My family. Both my side and my husband's. We're very lucky in the family department.
That's it for now.
