I'm back!  I am going to write my book here at Xanga.  Probably the only place where it will be appreciated.  Hee!  Hee!  It is called Meanderings through Menopause or Ramblings and other Digressions.

See you later.  I am off to the gym.    

I love Women's History month.  There is so much information everywhere.  I would have loved to have been submerged in all this wonderful history of women.  I have been collecting all kinds of tidbits and will be posting them here so that I don't lose track.  If you have any interesting notes to "herstory" that were about or created by women, please let me know.

I learned yesterday at an exhibition sponsored by the Marietta Historical Society about some of the following bits and pieces of history.  Hope you enjoy it.

Wesleyan College in Macon, GA,  is the world's oldest college for women. It was chartered on 12/23/1836.  The college was founded through the combined efforts of Macon citizens and the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  The doors of the college opened in 1/7/1839 with 90 young women enrolled in its first session.  The curriculum encompassed a liberal arts course of study with an emphasis on the sciences.

(I am just venting here.)   "I have had it!"  I worked for this company for 7 years and the last 4 years have been pure hell.  (Actually the 3 years before that with an abusive and manipulative boss wasn't that great either.) 

They (the elusive & generalize "they") have tried to force me into the corporate box but I just don't fit and the box is exploding at the seams.  (Imagine me in a box (or small cube with no window in sight)? 

I have a supervisor who takes care of things.  I hate being taken care of, being managed -- read, being controlled.  How did I get this person as my supervisor anyway?  I hate being managed.  I have worked for 40 years (longer than most of the people I work with and for have been alive or at least old enough to work).  I feel like the OFFICE WORM.  Actually that is an appropriate term to use for what I do.  A worm eats away at rocks and turns the byproduct from its body into soil.  (Yuck!)  I take everyone's needs, desires and wants at the office and turn them into supplies, problem free copiers/faxes/printers and head sets that work perfectly. 

I hate being told that I can't talk to a supervisor.  I have no right!  (Where did this "no right" come from?  Sounds like the Proletariat of Communist Russia.)  When did this no talking rule occur?  There have been rule changes and I have not been informed until I make a mistake.  I hate the system they have in place at work. 

Why is it so hard for the management staff to be positive and supportive of their fellow employees.  Our morale is at an all time low.  People like to be treated like human beings and not robots that have defects and should be reprogrammed. 

Well, I took the Harassment Training online today.  I can see how I could offend someone.  I have always been an in-your-face sort of mothering type.  Laughing, joking, hugs and advice have always been my style.  This newer generation has been brought up in a very different work environment.  First they have been taught that job loyalty is a joke.  Litigation is the way to handle any problem.  Older people are a pain and should be ignored (that was started by my generation, however, because we trusted no one over the age of 30 --remember?).   Us oldies-but-goodies have learned to care about each other on a personal level and try to find ways to help each other make it through another week of the usual crap!

Anyway, I was really angry at myself for putting up with a personally hostile environment for so many years.  I have a great way of not really seeing a job situation before I jump into it.  I was raised in a mentally abusive family, married an abusive man (for 5 years) and continually find myself in jobs that are manipulative and abusive.  In other words, I allow certain situations to be recreated in my life because I have not (up until now) been willing to recognize that I have had a very poor self imagine and l have led myself to believe that no one else would want to hire me.  Talk about self-fulfilling prophecy!  This is prayer in action.  Duh!!!

I am sending out my resume to everyone for every job that appears to be interesting and within my scope of experience.  I already have ad a nibble.  The thing that I learned is that it is the most important thing to be balanced.  Let the winds of change and confusion and fear blow on by.  Life will go on one moment at a time and if I remain balanced I will not be affected (or blown off course) by the storms.  I do good work.  No, I do great work.  People like me and thank me on a regular basis.  Those few who are unhappy with me are unhappy with everyone which means they are unhappy with themselves.  They have the power which causes everyone else unhappiness.  However, I have the power not to let them throw me off balance.  After all it is just life.  And we all know to live life to the fullest.

My favorite Sandra Boynton cup showed a hippo laying on its side with turkeys climbing all over him.  The cup said "Don't let the turkeys get you down!"  and I say after all they are all turkeys.

Venting ended.  Moving out of the anger phase and moving on in positive directions now.  Blessings to you all.

Have you spent time reading about our history, Women's History?   Have you ever wondered if women played any part in bringing us to where we are in this world?  After all we are the one half of humanity.  I don't remember hearing much about women when I was in school.  Men seemed to do everything.  However, with just a little bit of web surfing, women can discover just how important our sex has been in this world.  There are so many web sites visit and learn about the accomplishments of women.  We should take some time  to read about some of our path finders especially in March during Women's History Month. 

I wanted to share with you a brief synopsis of the life of Elizabeth Blackwell.  She was the first American female doctor by being the first woman to graduate from medical school with a doctorate of medicine.  She is also a pioneer in educating women in medicine. 

Elizabeth Blackwell 
1821-1910  

Elizabeth was born in England on February 3, 1821.  Her early education was provided by a private tutor and included Latin, Greek and mathematics.  Her father was an usual man for his time in that he wanted his daughters to be educated in languages and mathematics.  These were subjects that were not taught to women.  Afterall, why would women need knowledge of anything other than sewing, keeping house, cooking, etc.  Why, indeed.

Her father, Samuel Blackwell, a social reformer, moved his family to America in 1832.   Exceptionally good as a "social reformer," he was not very good in business and left his family without financial support upon his death.  Her mother and two older sisters opened a private school to support the family after her father's death. 

Elizabeth taught school as well but was not interested in being a teacher.  Instead her interests revolved around all things medical.  She wanted to be doctor to women and children.  She was not the least bit interested in getting married.

In 1847 she began searching for a medical school that would admit her for a full course of study.   She was turned down by all the best medical schools because she was a woman.  She was finally accepted by the Geneva Medical College in Geneva, NY and graduated first in her class in 1849.

"The idea of winning a doctor's degree gradually assumed the aspect of a great moral struggle, and the moral fight possessed immense attraction for me."

• After graduations she went to Paris where she entered training at the midwives course at La Maternite.
  
• Suffered serious a eye infection which left her blind in one eye.  
  
• Work at  St. Bartholomew's Hospital in England with Dr. James Paget.
  
• During her stay in England she met and became friends with Florence Nightingale.
  
• Upon return to the US in 1851, she began to see women and children in her home because the hospitals and dispensaries refused her association.
  
• She wrote lectures on health in 1952 which she published as "The Laws of Life; with Special Reference to the Physical Education of Girls."
  
• In 1853 she opened a dispensary in the slums of New York City.
  
• In 1854 she adopted an orphan, Katharine Barry.
  
• In 1857 the dispensary incorporated as the New York Infirmary for Women and Children.
  
• First woman to have her name placed on the British medical register while on a lecture tour in Great Britain in 1859. 
  
• Helped to organize the Women's Central Association of Relief during the Civil War by selecting and training nurses for service in the war.
  
• Helped to inspire the creation of the US Sanitary Commission.
  
• November 1868 she opened the Women's Medical College at the Infirmary and took the Chair of Hygiene.
  
• Moved back to England in 1869 and helped organize the national Health Society and founded the London School of Medicine for Women.
  
• In 1875 she was appointed professor of gynecology at the London School of Medicine for children founded by Elizabeth Garrett.
  
• Died in 1910 in Sussex.

"If society will not admit of women's free development, then society must be remodeled."   

Here is a woman who let nothing stand in the way of reaching her goals.  More than anything else she wanted to be a doctor of medicine.  It wasn't an easy path for her.  Every where she turned there were blocks and non acceptance but she persevered.  A good role model for other women.  Don't let your dreams die.  Live each day to the fullest and best of your ability and keep your "eye on the prize."

Welcome to our kitchen.  Maude is making delicious scones for St. Patrick's Day and is planning to give you a copy of her recipe.  Get yourself a nice cup of tea and sit down and enjoy a bit of chit chat.

March certainly came in like a lion which means it will go out like a lamb so the old wives' tale states.  However, there are many days of changeable weather to come before April 1st (April Fool's Day?).  A meteorological site on the web stated that "Weather is very hard to predict in March."  And we have certainly noticed since our little bit of snow on March 1st.

Farmers welcome the winds of March because they dry out the soggy fields and permit planting to begin.  March winds are as essential as the April showers.  The full rhyme goes "March wind and April showers bring forth May flowers."    (Oxford Companion to the Year)

"Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour."  -- Emerson.

"March with grief doth howl and rage."  -- Shelley

February makes a bridge and March breaks it."  -- Herbert

March was the first month of the Roman year until the adoption of the Julian calendar in 46 BCE.  The Romans gave the month its name from Mars, the god of war and, at one time, the god of agriculture.

Earrach Geamrich is the name for March in Gaelic and means the winter spring  - This is an excellent description of March weather.  If you don't like today, stick around for tomorrow will definitely be different.

In Ireland mi-na (bo) riaibche is the name for the month of the brindled cow.  The brindled cow complained at the dawn of April about the harshness of March whereupon March borrowed a few days from April and these were so wet and stormy that the cow drowned.  I love this story.  It is a good reminder to accept what the day for what it is.  You never know what the next day will bring.

Remember the soothsayers warning to Julius Caesar "Beware the Ides of March."  Sounds ominous doesn't it?  Actually, the term IDES represents the 15th of March, May, July and October and the 13th day in the other months.  The Romans had a very complicated system for determining the day of the month.  So, the Ides of March was just another day except for Julius Caesar who was assassinated on March 15, 44 B.C.

Another type of shower occurs in March on the 21st, a meteor shower from the constellation Lyra.  The swift and bright meteors disintegrate after hitting our atmosphere.  You should be able to observe them in the eastern sky.

The Vernal or Spring Equinox arrives on March 20th.  On March 25th is the Full Worm Moon which marks the time when the ground beings to soften and earthworm casts begin to appear.   (The Old Farmers Almanac  2005)

If you are a fisherman, you will find your best days to be between March 10th and March 25th.

March 1st is St. David's Day.  St. David who was born in the 6th century is the patron saint of Wales.  His symbol is the leek which is said to have protected him in combat.  In honor of St. David, plant a bulb of aromatic leek as soon as the ground can be worked.

March 17th is St. Patrick's Day which was first celebrated in the United States with a parade in New York City in 1737.  St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and the 17th is his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in 461 A.D.

Here at the Atlanta CMC, March 17th will be our Irish Spring Festival and Potluck.  Sign up to bring a dish or pay $6 for food to be purchased.  Come and enjoy the feast and the fun.  We will have some games and prizes as well.  Don't forget decorate your cube and to dress as Irish as possible.

Thanks for dropping by.  Looking forward to seeing you all at Irish Spring.  As an ending thought for March and its wind,

Xanga

Good morning!  It is a beautiful March day and all seems to be well here.  We have added a new Beta to the fish family.  Each have their own vase with a plant growing out of the top.  They seem to be relatively happy since they are near the sliding glass door and have a lot of light and movement from the patio.  Our new hamster is not as friendly as Meatball but she is still very young.  I miss Meatball because I could cuddle with her.  The cats all had to take antibiotics at the same time for 10 days.  I was going broke running them to the Vet.  Sweetie has given in and now plays with the new kitty.  She reserves the hissing for when she really doesn't want to be bothered.  Mocha lets the kitty jump all over him.  My "little man" is going on 8 years old.  Megs has finally decided that being a waitress is not the way she wants to live her life.  She is going to college this fall.  Yipee!  Chris has to finish high school and we have signed him up with The American School to complete his requirements.  Chris has added fish to his tank.  We have a little eel, Albino Tiger Barbs, a Gourami, and a tiny algae eater.  And last but not least Megs bought two spotted mice.  Our little apartment keeps getting smaller.  We are hoping to move into a townhouse in the complex at the end of this year.  However, that does not mean we can add more pets or larger fish tanks.    We are all fine.  Just wanted to stop by and say hello.  Have a great day.   zera

Do you think???????

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health.

It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting medical studies. 

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans

 CONCLUSION:

Eat and drink what you like.

Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

This was sent to me from a friend.  I totally agree with the philosophy.

PHILOSOPHY OF HOUSECLEANING!
I don't do windows because ... I love birds and don't want one to run into a clean window and get hurt. 

I don't wax floors because ... I am terrified a guest will slip and get hurt then I'll feel terrible (plus they may sue me.) 
 
I don't mind the dust bunnies because ...They are very good company, I have named most of them, and they agree with everything I say. 

I don't disturb cobwebs because ...I want every creature to have a home of their own. 

I don't Spring Clean because ... I love all the seasons and don't want the others to get jealous. 

I don't pull weeds in the garden because .. I don't want to get in God's way, he is an excellent designer! 
 
I don't put things away because ... My husband will never be able to find them again. 

I don't do gourmet meals when I entertain because ...I don't want my guests to stress out over what to make when they invite me over for dinner. 

I don't iron because ... I choose to believe them when they say "Permanent Press". 
 
 I don't stress much on anything because ..."A Type" personalities die young and I want to stick around and become a wrinkled up crusty ol' woman!!!! 



From my friend:

My nose is all stuffed up.  No wonder with the weather being very cold in the mornings and then too warm to wear a coat in the afternoon.  Oh, well.  It is winter after all.  My 57th birthday is coming up quickly -- a little to pushy kind of quickly.  In some circles I will be considered a Crone, a wise woman.  Yeah, right!  No wiser than usual.  I did wear my red hat to work yesterday.  We had a silly hat contest and I won an honorable mention.  It is a beautiful hat.  Looks like a church hat I was told.  Well, I will have to think about that and make the comment that keeps coming to mind to myself.  I have been invited to join a local group of Red Hatters.  The first get together is next Saturday at the Cheesecake Factory.  Speaking and thinking of food, I lost 36 pounds so far.  I am planning to loose another 30.  Right now I am maintaining and taking a bit of a break.  The South Beach Diet (sort of low glycemic food) is a terrific way to eat.  I feel a lot healthier and after losing the weight I can finally breath and talk at the same time.

My cats are getting along.  The little kitty likes to play with Mocha our Siamese and he enjoys the attention.  However, Sweetie cat has forgiven us for getting the kitty but she still wants it to go away.  Well, I will give her a few more months (or years?).

Ready for some football tomorrow.  I will be glued to the set in order to watch Philadelphia trounce Atlanta and Pittsburgh be victorious over New England.  Imagine a Super Bowl with two Pennsylvania football teams.  Be still my heart.  Who would I route for?  Well, Pittsburgh of course since I am from Western Pennsylvania.  But I do like Philadelphia. 

I have stopped losing umbrellas on the public transportation.  I have an umbrella that fits in my purse.  However, I have left my hat (not the red one) and the book I was reading on the bus on Thursday.  I think I am letting go a bit too much.  Need to get a new head warmer for this cold weather.  But I didn't get to finish the book.

It is cold here this morning.  Very foggy and the cloud cover is thick.  Might rain.  Could get some snow.  Maybe a day off from work on Monday????  No, too much to wish for.

Everyone stay warm.  Spring is not far off.  Love to you all.  zera

Well, Happy New Year to you all.  I am off and jogging on another tangent.  Have joined the Red Hat Society via the Website and have joined a discussion group on Yahoo.  A nice bunch of ladies from Iowa.  There are a couple Red Hat groups here in Roswell but they haven't responded back to me about participating.  So, I believe I will be the Xanga Red Hatter.  Anyone want to join.  All you need is a sense of humor and a red hat.  There are no rules.  At our age who needs rules.  It is time to break them all. 

I was reading a posting at Women's Spirituality group about a study (paid for by the government) on "Men Prefer Subordinate Women to Equals."   It seems that the article is pointing to evolution as a cause for domestic violence.   Well, you would have to read the article.  Personally, it seems like a bunch of HooHaa! to me.

I haven't been writing much lately because I have been enjoying my life.  We are still trying to stretch the old paychecks.  However, there seems to be alot more joy in our relationships.  I am definitely thankful for all that I have been given this past year.

I am especially thankful that I love my Mom and have worked through all the negative crap I had hanging around in my subconscious.  I would recommend any woman who has issues in her life to take up a website and write her heart and mind out.  I have saved all my rantings on Xanga but I don't bother to go back and read them anymore.  Don't need them.  I am moving into this new year and soon to be my 57th year on Earth free of all the nonsense.  I have learned alot about my self from writing.  Maybe it wasn't all pleasant but I said and I let go of it and I like myself very much.  More importantly I love my family.

Megs and Chris went to PetSmart to buy me a new hamster today.  I almost got mice because they were "so cute."  Then there was a delightful guinea pig -- that the cats would adore.  Now it is adopt a kitty.  Well, this might happen.  I am going with the kids tomorrow to look.  Three cats are enough for a family.  I told Daddy he didn't have a choice, we were getting it. 

See, being over 50 means you can assert yourself and still be lovable.  Mainly you need to love yourself.  I took the week off between Christmas and New Years.  This was the first time ever (it was either use it or lose it).  I had a terriific time just treating myself to alot of quite time.  I am going to hate going back to work on Monday but I will sure be rested.

That's it for now ladies and gentlement.  Try to wear your red hat sometime this week and let me know how you felt.  It is empowering.  Blessings.  zera