22 March 2011
19 March 2011
This is not a joke.
"Jihad Cosmo"
From The Independent, via Carolyn McCulley:
"Not content with launching an English-language magazine that debuted with a feature called "How to make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom", al Qa'ida's media wing has followed up with a magazine for women, mixing beauty tips with lessons in jihad.
The 31-page glossy, Al-Shamikha, which translates loosely as "The Majestic Woman", features a niqab-clad woman posing with a sub-machine gun on its cover.
The magazine's editors explain their thinking in a launch issue preamble: "Because women constitute half of the population – and one might even say that they are the population since they give birth to the next generation – the enemies of Islam are bent on preventing the Muslim woman from knowing the truth about her religion and her role, since they know all too well what would happen if women entered the field of jihad... The nation of Islam needs women who know the truth about their religion and about the battle and its dimensions and know what is expected of them." Analysts say the idea is to market global jihad with the same slick feel as Cosmopolitan or Marie Claire push Western culture to young women."
McCulley: "I put that one sentence in bold because it's similar to what many Christian leaders say to women, minus the Islam reference, of course. The kingdom of God needs women who know the truth about their religion and about the battle and its dimensions and know what is expected of them. Murder and suicide are not one of the expectations, however. A big, big difference there."
From The Independent, via Carolyn McCulley:
"Not content with launching an English-language magazine that debuted with a feature called "How to make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom", al Qa'ida's media wing has followed up with a magazine for women, mixing beauty tips with lessons in jihad.
The 31-page glossy, Al-Shamikha, which translates loosely as "The Majestic Woman", features a niqab-clad woman posing with a sub-machine gun on its cover.
The magazine's editors explain their thinking in a launch issue preamble: "Because women constitute half of the population – and one might even say that they are the population since they give birth to the next generation – the enemies of Islam are bent on preventing the Muslim woman from knowing the truth about her religion and her role, since they know all too well what would happen if women entered the field of jihad... The nation of Islam needs women who know the truth about their religion and about the battle and its dimensions and know what is expected of them." Analysts say the idea is to market global jihad with the same slick feel as Cosmopolitan or Marie Claire push Western culture to young women."
McCulley: "I put that one sentence in bold because it's similar to what many Christian leaders say to women, minus the Islam reference, of course. The kingdom of God needs women who know the truth about their religion and about the battle and its dimensions and know what is expected of them. Murder and suicide are not one of the expectations, however. A big, big difference there."
03 March 2011
March 3, 2011
Today, I enjoyed lots of little things. Lemon in my water (have any of you dear faithful RubyRi readers tried this at home? It's a win.), a few squares of chocolate, the satisfaction of getting a lot of work done, and a really great dinner.
And then I came home.
Tonight, I did NOT enjoy hearing scratching sounds coming from an interior wall in my house. It could only mean one thing. I'm buying stock in tin foil.
And then I came home.
Tonight, I did NOT enjoy hearing scratching sounds coming from an interior wall in my house. It could only mean one thing. I'm buying stock in tin foil.
27 February 2011
Handmade by Bernice
My fabulous sister-in-law Bernice made me a purse for my birthday! She asked me for pattern suggestions and a few color ideas, and then surprised me with something even cuter than what I was expecting! It's perfect! I love the gray and yellow together, and the shell buttons. So pretty.
And this lovely little thing is a tea wallet! What a novel idea! Great for my recent tea obsessions.
And this lovely little thing is a tea wallet! What a novel idea! Great for my recent tea obsessions.
26 February 2011
It's about time...
for a refresher. Over the past year, I've given away approximately 30% of my wardrobe. That's not really that much, considering the plethora of clothing options I had in the beginning. The only problem with getting rid of old clothes is that you don't have those standbys anymore to depend on when you don't feel like thinking about getting dressed. But maybe that's the point. There's a reason you get compliments on those days you take more than 10 minutes to get dressed.
Today I did something rare and unusual for me: I went shopping. Many years ago (ok, about 5), shopping was my weekend hobby. I wasn't an outdoorsy sort of girl back then, I was an indoorsy sort of hobby shopper, and it was a weekly habit. One which ate up many dollars that could have been directed towards my savings account. The saddest part of it all was that I didn't need any of the stuff I bought, and I didn't even truly want half of it. It was just something fun to do. Today, I only go shopping when I absolutely must, because it's no longer enjoyable. I get a bigger thrill out of watching my debt decrease and my savings increase, and it feels stressful now to make all those decisions about my hard-earned cash. Clothing, in my mind, is the second most quickly depreciating investment you can make - behind buying a new car. It is a necessity, however, so you might as well try to have a little fun with it, right?
Ok, what did I get? Well, you know I had to have coupons, and today also happened to be a sale day at JCPenney's! So it was a win-win. Let's hope I made some wise choices:
(really really sorry about just having links, but I don't know how to make pictures from other websites show up on my blog!)
Gray Cowl-Neck Sweater Dress with Belt
Reversible Gray&Pink Drape Cardigan (apparently it's called a "cozy"... get with the times, Ri!)
Black flyaway cardigan/cozy/whatchamacallit
Gray Laceback Vest
Black Heels (to go with the dress... not sure if I'll end up just wearing my usual knee-high boots with the dress and returning the heels. Pain tolerance issues and all, you know...)
Khakis for work in "Barnswallow", I think, which is somewhere between gray and khaki/cement
Jeans because my current ones are getting holes, but not in the "cool" places to have holes, of course! I didn't get the skinny flared jeans I'm showing in the link... I got regular bootcut, but for some reason Old Navy's website doesn't have the same style I bought in the store.
Total cost: $131.83 - $20 Old Navy gift card = $111.83. Total value was $253.99. Not bad!
Today I did something rare and unusual for me: I went shopping. Many years ago (ok, about 5), shopping was my weekend hobby. I wasn't an outdoorsy sort of girl back then, I was an indoorsy sort of hobby shopper, and it was a weekly habit. One which ate up many dollars that could have been directed towards my savings account. The saddest part of it all was that I didn't need any of the stuff I bought, and I didn't even truly want half of it. It was just something fun to do. Today, I only go shopping when I absolutely must, because it's no longer enjoyable. I get a bigger thrill out of watching my debt decrease and my savings increase, and it feels stressful now to make all those decisions about my hard-earned cash. Clothing, in my mind, is the second most quickly depreciating investment you can make - behind buying a new car. It is a necessity, however, so you might as well try to have a little fun with it, right?
Ok, what did I get? Well, you know I had to have coupons, and today also happened to be a sale day at JCPenney's! So it was a win-win. Let's hope I made some wise choices:
(really really sorry about just having links, but I don't know how to make pictures from other websites show up on my blog!)
Gray Cowl-Neck Sweater Dress with Belt
Reversible Gray&Pink Drape Cardigan (apparently it's called a "cozy"... get with the times, Ri!)
Black flyaway cardigan/cozy/whatchamacallit
Gray Laceback Vest
Black Heels (to go with the dress... not sure if I'll end up just wearing my usual knee-high boots with the dress and returning the heels. Pain tolerance issues and all, you know...)
Khakis for work in "Barnswallow", I think, which is somewhere between gray and khaki/cement
Jeans because my current ones are getting holes, but not in the "cool" places to have holes, of course! I didn't get the skinny flared jeans I'm showing in the link... I got regular bootcut, but for some reason Old Navy's website doesn't have the same style I bought in the store.
Total cost: $131.83 - $20 Old Navy gift card = $111.83. Total value was $253.99. Not bad!
12 February 2011
30th Birthday Dinner
Katie, Cory, John, Kasey, Miriam
Me, Katie & Cory, Taryn, Jenell, John & Kasey, Miriam & Peter, Kris & Catherine.
Roasted beet salad with goat cheese and candied walnuts
Mushroom and Brie soup
My favorite, Confit de Canard (duck)
John, Kasey, Annie, Miriam.
Peter, Kris.
John, Kasey, and Kate, our very accomodating waitress.
Taryn, Jenell. John &Kasey's baby Annie did so great!
Le Cafe de Paris consistently makes the best cappuccino I've ever had.
Crème brulée.
Taryn, Miriam, me, Kasey, Catherine.
Such a LOVEly Saturday
Look what showed up at my door today!
A Valentine's package from my Mom (Aside: She always sends me something for Valentine's Day, despite knowing I will be so behind as to forget that the Can-I-still-mail-something-and-get-it-there-by-the-holiday? window for Valentine's Day has closed and there won't be anything in her mailbox come Monday. But that's the definition of love, isn't it? Giving without expecting anything in return? Thanks Mom!):
I also got a new purse for my birthday! My super-talented sister-in-law crafted this for me!
And she has no idea how much tea I've been drinking lately, but serendipitously, she made this matching tea wallet!
A Valentine's package from my Mom (Aside: She always sends me something for Valentine's Day, despite knowing I will be so behind as to forget that the Can-I-still-mail-something-and-get-it-there-by-the-holiday? window for Valentine's Day has closed and there won't be anything in her mailbox come Monday. But that's the definition of love, isn't it? Giving without expecting anything in return? Thanks Mom!):
A sweet little pink package
I also got a new purse for my birthday! My super-talented sister-in-law crafted this for me!
And she has no idea how much tea I've been drinking lately, but serendipitously, she made this matching tea wallet!
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