semicharmedwife

I’ve officially reached “that age”. Pretty much every conversation I have with my girlfriends these days devolves into talk of babies–whether we want them, when to have them, how many to have, how to raise them, etc.. Ah, the joys of aging. Having kids isn’t an “if” for me–my husband and I know that we want children… someday. We’re just not sure when that someday will be. We want to be sure to have all of our ducks in a row before we take such a huge step in our lives. That’s the smart way to do things, right?  Read more >

Every year, my family (dad’s side) has a huge July 4th cookout at my parents’ house. The whole family attends, and with seven siblings (who produced 15 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren), it’s quite a sizable crowd. There is always great food, fireworks, gallons of beer, a gang of screaming kids, and a lot of laughter. I love these gatherings, but they have a tendency to press my mental rewind button and transport me back in time to the attitudes and beliefs of my childhood–for better or for worse. Most of our deep-seated, unconscious beliefs about the way the world works are internalized early in childhood. Unfortunately, these beliefs often reflect the fears and anxieties of our parents. (This is the thing that terrifies me the most about having and raising children–that I will pass along my issues like some kind of hereditary disorder.) For example, a single mother whose husband left her during pregnancy may unintentionally pass along to her daughter the belief that men are unreliable and cannot be trusted. As you might imagine, this belief could cause the daughter to have serious difficulties in relationships when she is older. The worst part is that she may not even know why–the belief may be buried so deeply that she isn’t even aware of it.  Read more >

My typical Saturday goes something like this… (Lord, this is embarrassing.) Wake up around 7:30am and make breakfast. Surf the internet and catch up on blogs for a few hours (I know, I know). Go for a run. Come back and shower. Grab some lunch–eat while surfing the internet again. Write for an hour or two. Straighten up the house. Watch some TiVo’d programs (Battlestar Galactica, House, Law & Order SVU, The Office). Make dinner. Watch TV or movies until bed. Repeat on Sunday. Sure, I get some things done (a little bit of writing, a run, cleaning), but the bulk of my weekend is frittered away on mindless entertainment. I didn’t truly realize the impact this was having on my life until recently.  Read more >

In her recent post, JoLynn at The Fit Shack (by whom I’m always greatly inspired) said this: “When it comes to weight loss, you’ve got to want it more than you want to use food. Your desire to lose weight and get fit must be greater than your desire to emotionally eat or to drown yourself in sugar addiction. Once you have the desire then you can move on…” This prompted a flurry of instrospective soul searching on my part. Do I really want to be healthy and fit? If so, why doesn’t my lifestyle match my desire? Do I really want to be a successful writer? If so, why is it sometimes so hard to get myself writing?  Read more >

Today’s post focuses on self-esteem and spirituality, and comes to us courtesy of the Belle of the Blog. Belle presents a particularly interesting (and original) take on the relationship between our view of ourselves, our view of others, and our view of the world and What Made It. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I did! “I know I’m somebody, ‘cause God don’t make no junk.” I remember the first time I ever saw or heard that phrase. It was on a little plaque hanging over the desk of one of my mother’s co-workers. There was a little country-mouse of a girl on the plaque, with mussed-up hair and two missing front teeth. I was seven and it seemed really silly to me to see something like that in an office. I also felt like whoever wrote it had made a mistake. God most indeed did make junk. I was proof of it. Read more...  Read more >