Hijab-ified Amber - now, with added jilbab

Jilbab came, so you get pictures.

First, the abaya. It's a dark blue.


Abaya with pretty new khimar....

Another with the same combo, only this time, you get a goofy grin...

Jilbab. Showing off my hood. If nothing else, I can be a Jedi or something with this.

With one of my pashminas.

Now, I must confess, when I got these, and threw the abaya on, I went, 'oh hells, this is *so* unflattering!' and the same with the jilbab. They take away my shape! I think I look even fatter than I am in these. The jilbab is a bit better, but...still. I resolved, take the pictures, get it over with. And, I have to say, the jilbab, at least, has grown on me. It's *meant* to take away my curves. Yes, there could be a lot less of me, and believe it or not, I used to be even bigger. However, I wandered around for awhile in the jilbab/pashmina, doing house stuff. It's growing on me.

But, if ya'll wanna tell me they don't look bad, feel free. ;)

Piglet - Outward Hound - Extreme Dog!

Hee!

Piglet is my sister's chihuahua. We bought her a little life jacket and are teaching her to swim. Now, none of our dogs are ever alone near the pool, and we would never leave any of them alone in the pool, especially not Pig, who couldn't climb out if she needed to, because her little legs are too short.

Anyway...

This is Pig being introduced to the concept of large bodies of water. My mom's holding onto her.

This is her second or third swim...mom & dad kept moving a little further apart each time.

Pig, having successfully completed day one of her training! She then got a bath to get the pool water off and ran around the house like a nut.

Seeking Non Fiction Book Recommendations

Working on the assumption that one can never have too many books, I'm looking to expand my 'wish list' of non-fiction books. I'm going to list what I own, broken down into rough categories, and then, feel free to tell me what books you absolutely think I *must* have, on any subject. You can even list fiction, if you like, but my fiction collection is massive, so, no list for you on that.

*This is grouped roughly, and I'm just making the categories alphabetical*

Christianity:

Catholicism:
- 1962 Roman Missal
- Aquinas's Shorter Summa: Saint Thomas's Own Concise Version of His Summa Theologica - St. Thomas Aquinas
- Begone Satan - Carl Vogl
- Catechism of the Catholic Church - U.S. Catholic Church
- St. Joseph Catholic Manual - Thomas J. Donaghy
- Catholic Women's Devotional Bible
- Catholicism for Dummies - Fr. John Trigilio
- Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church - Card. Joseph Ratzinger
- The Dark Sacrament: True Stories of Modern-Day Demon Possession and Exorcism - David Kiely
- Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul - St. Maria Faustina Kowalska
- An Exorcist Tells His Story - Fr. Gabriele Amorth
- An Exorcist: More Stories - Fr. Gabriele Amorth
- From the Angel's Blackboard: The Best of Fulton J. Sheen - Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
- God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life - Card. Joseph Ratzinger
- Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God - Scott Hahn
- Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans - Malachi Martin
- Interview with an Exorcist - Fr. Jose Antonio Fortea
- Jesus of Nazareth - Pope Benedict XVI
- The New Catholic Answer Bible
- Pray the Rosary - J.M. Lelen
- Rome Sweet Home - Scott Hahn
- Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan - Pope John Paul II
- What Paul Meant - Gary Wills

Misc.:

- Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew - Bart D. Ehrman
- The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed - Bart D. Ehrman
- Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament - Bart D. Ehrman
- Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why - Bart D. Ehrman

Orthodoxy:

- The Orthodox Church - Kallistos Ware
- The Orthodox Study Bible
- The Orthodox Way - Kallistos Ware

General:

- 1776 - David McCullough
- Anything Goes - John Barrowman
- Back to the Batcave - Adam West
- Close to Shore - Michael Capuzzo
- Dracula, Prince of Many Faces: His Life and Times - Radu R. Florescu
- Ewan McGregor - Brian Pendreigh
- Heart Full of Lies: A True Story of Desire and Death - Ann Rule
- In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires - Radu Florescu
- John Adams - David McCullough
- The Lost Daughters of China - Karin Evans
- A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis - David M. Friedman
- Murder By Family - Kent Whitaker
- On Writing - Stephen King
- Plagues and Peoples - William H. McNeill
- What If? The World's Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been - Various
- What If 2? Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been - Various

Ghosts:

- Coast to Coast Ghosts - Leslie Rule
- Florida's Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore: South and Central Florida - Greg Jenkins
- Floridaland Ghosts - Dyuan Clearfield
- Ghost Hunting: True Stories of Unexplained Phenomena from The Atlantic Paranormal Society - Jason Hawes
- Ghost in the Mirror - Leslie Rule
- Ghost Stories of Sarasota - Kim Cool
- Ghosts Among Us - Leslie Rule
- Ghosts of St. Augustine - Dave Lapham
- The Ghosts of 87th Lane - M.L. Woelm
- Ghosts: True Encounters with the World Beyond - Hans Holzer
- Grave's End - Elaine Mercado
- Hans Holzer's Travel Guide to Haunted Places - Hans Holzer
- Haunt Hunter's Guide to Florida - Joyce Elson Moore
- The Haunted South: Where Ghosts Still Roam - Nancy Roberts
- Haunting Sunshine - Jack Powell
- Hidden Files: Law Enforcement's True Case Stories of the Unexplained and Paranormal - Sue Kovach
- House of Spirits and Whispers - Annie Wilder
- I Never Believed in Ghosts Until... - Various
- Phantom Army of the Civil War and Other Southern Ghost Stories - Various
- Philadelphia Ghost Stories - Charles J. Adams, III
- Possessed Possessions - Ed Okonowicz
- Possessed Possessions 2 - Ed Okonowicz
- Psychic Pets and Spirit Animals - Various
- True Ghost Stories - Hans Holzer
- When the Ghost Screams - Leslie Rule

Islam:

- The Blood of Lambs - Kamal Saleem
- The Caged Virgin - Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- The Exorcist Tradition in Islam - Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
- The Face Behind the Veil - Donna Gehrke-White
- The Fundamentals of Tawheed: Islamic Monotheism - Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
- A Hand Through the Door for My New Sister
- In the Land of Invisible Women - Qanta A. Ahmed
- Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Islam - Karen Armstrong
- Living Islam Out Loud - Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur
- Muhammed - Karen Armstrong
- No God But God - Reza Aslan
- Princess - Jean Sasson (I am aware of the *issues* with this book, but I own it, so I list)
- Qur'an and Woman - Amina Wadud
- Qur'an Translation
- Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
- Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West - Benazir Bhutto
- Standing Alone in Mecca - Asra Nomani
- Voices Behind the Veil - Ergun Mehmet Caner (again, *issues* are involved with the book, I know)

Judaism:

- 1 Enoch
- Abraham's Children - Jon Entine
- How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household - Blu Greenberg
- On Women & Judaism - Blu Greenberg
- Women & Jewish Law - Rachel Biale
- The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs

Religion(Misc):

- The Battle for God - Karen Armstrong
- Dictionary of Angels - Gustav Davidson
- God Is Not Great - Christopher Hitchens
- The Great Transformation - Karen Armstrong
- A History of God - Karen Armstrong
- Holy War - Karen Armstrong
- Jezebel - Lesley Hazelton
- The World's Religions - Huston Smith

8 Things Tag aka It's All About Me

So, Ahavah tagged me. :) I feel all special now.

8 things I'm looking forward to:

1. My end of the month book store trip.
2. Mini break in the middle of July!
3. Finishing reading the Dresden Files again.
4. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
5. Losing at least another 50 lbs this year
6. Leverage Season 2
7. Reorganizing my books & comic collection. I'm a nerd, live with it.
8. Playing with my dogs tonight.

8 things I wish I could do:

1. Pay off my parents' mortgage, cars, etc. (So, you know, win the Lottery :) )
2. Learn to be patient and trust God. *headsmack*
3. Rule the World! Um, no. Seriously, smack everyone upside the head with the clue stick so we can stop hurting and killing each other.
4. Stop people from being cruel to animals.
5. Travel throughout the world. There are so many places I want to go to.
6. Sing. Sing well, I mean. :)
7. Pet pig!
8. Live on a farm in the middle of nowhere and raise a gaggle of really unusual children. :)

8 things I love:

1. God
2. My family (much as they may drive me up a wall - and I include our pets in 'family')
3. the church, my family through God, and all the wacky people in it. :)
4. History
5. Nature, and rolling around in the dirt
6. Water! (as in, the ocean)
7. Sharks
8. Books!

8 things I did yesterday:

1. Worked, dang it.
2. Had my car towed to Ford. Stupid gasket/battery/thingy.
3. Mistook a new rice steamer for a really bizarre toaster.
4. Attempted to teach my dog to fetch. He's got the catching the ball thing down, and the coming thing down, it's just combining the two.
5. Wrote fiction. I'm trying to get back into it.
6. Attempted to stalk Tank the Armadillo. He's clever, that one is.
7. Stole/borrowed moms bike since mines in the shop. Rode around neighborhood.
8. Listened to another episode of Our Life in Christ.

8 Shows I watch:

1. Supernatural
2. Leverage
3. Mythbusters
4. 18 and Counting
5. NCIS
6. Expedition Africa (Dear Benedict, the 'survivalist' I do not like you. Starting off your 'intro interview' by mentioning that on your first expedition you wound up eating your dog is not the way to win friends!)
7. CSI - All of them, even Miami, to my shame. I like Jonathan Togo, okay? Don't judge me!
8. Doctor Who! (And Torchwood, but I don't get BBCAmerica anymore, so that one must wait for DVD)

8 people that I tag! Uh, everyone I would tag has been tagged! So, if you read this, and you haven't been tagged, consider yourself tagged! Go for it!

I take it back, slightly. I tag Susanne and Coffee Catholic.

Hijab, Shoes and Interviews That Make Me Scream

Still not the 'post o'content'. I'm still working on that one. Trying to make it make sense, I guess. Sometimes that's harder than it sounds like it should be. :)

Okay, Amber playing around again.

Normal Amber:
Um, okay, I like this shirt. Some people, who all acknowledge that I shall never be a fashion maven, claim it too spotty. Whatever. This is why, if they want to critique my clothes, they shouldn't let me shop alone.

*sigh* al-Amira hijab. I want to like you, I really do. You are quick and easy. But you look funny, I have to wear a high-collared shirt to make sure there aren't any gaps, and, well, I still think it looks funny.

Shayla. I actually got this scarf at Wal-mart. Hmm...previous attempt, people mentioned that I needed underscarves that were colored to bring the color closer to my face. (My underscarves are all white at the moment). So, I found a $1 pack of wide stretchy headbands. I used the pink one to demonstrate, but it goes on over one of the white underscarves, and voila! Color! Also, boob coverage, with the shayla and all.

Boobs. Um, not to put too fine a point on it, but mine are not small. I do my best to down play them - I wear sports bras/tops under my clothes as much as possible, because regular bras tend to accentuate the breasts, which is, I suppose what they're designed to do. But it makes keeping shirts, etc. modest difficult.

What I'm calling khimar. If I'm using the word wrong, someone please correct me. This is what I wore out in public the other day. Two things: 1) Am I deficient somehow? How do you pin the scarf tightly and with the pin not just...being there, obvious? I cannot seem to manage this! 2) Okay, again with the breasts. This is a regular sized khimar, bought from HijabGirl. My understanding is that a part of the overall hijab is that the scarf is meant to cover your chest. Natch. I can still see the curve of my breasts to either side of the scarf. Is it because I'm built like a mack truck? I mean, I wear loose clothing, but there's only so much I can do! *waggles* I want my abaya & jilbab! I want to see if that makes a difference!

Coffee Catholic style! Meaning, a little hair showing, no underscarf. Um...I think it works better with bangs, which I don't have. Otherwise you get this, Giant Forehead of Doom!

And now for shoes! Because you all care about shoes, don't you? These are some of my favorite, not every day kind of shoes.


First up, spikey blue shoes! My love for these shoes is unending. I reserve them for special occasions.

Franken-shoe! I can't, actually, drive in these. They're too thick to push the pedals because of the heels.

Um...'shmex' boots. I do love these boots, but uh, yeah. I don't wear them at all anymore because of the way I walk in them, it's sort of counter productive to the whole...covering up thing.

Clunky oriental patterned sandals! Again, deep love for these shoes. I have flat flip flops in the same pattern too, but because I am short, I like these better.

And now interview of head banging irritation:

One of the women at work gave me her copy of the June 19, 2009 issue of Entertainment Weekly because it had Transformers on the cover, and she knows I'm looking forward to the movie. It was an interview with the 'love interest' of the movie, Megan Fox. Here're the highlights that pissed me off:

(After revealing that she'd been an extra in a scene in Bad Boys II - dancing in a bikini in a club, under a water fall)

EW: Wait, what?

Fox: Yeah, was still in ninth grade. I liked it at the time, because I was getting out of school. So I was like, F--- yeah, I don't care! And I got paid extra because if you allow them to put water on you, you get paid extra. I got probably $600.

EW: How did you feel about being sexualized like that when you were 15?

Fox: I thought it was awesome. I was going to a Christian high school and I wasn't a feminist yet. I hadn't sat back and analyzed society yet. I was 15! I just did what I was told to do.

EW: What did your parents think?

Fox: My mom was with me! I was always ubersexual, so she wasn't shocked. I was wearing the smallest clothes I could find. I would go to the mall like that - in a short, short skirt and a giant wedge heel.
....
(some mention of her stealing her mothers car when she was fourteen...movie stuff....)

EW: You've only done a couple of movies, so you're still mostly known as a sex symbol rather than an actress.

Fox: It doesn't bother me. I don't know why someone would complain about that. That just means that the bar has been set pretty low. So I can only be an overachiever. I think all women in Hollywood are known as sex symbols. That's what our purpose is in this business. You're merchandised, you're a product. You're sold and it's based on sex. But that's okay. I think women should be empowered by that, not degraded.

Emphasis mine, above. *head desk* *These* are the people that our kids want to emulate, because it's the way our society works! *growls* I have words, but they're impolite and, you know, cussing.

But, you know, frak it, women, people, who want to be modest, wear niqab, hijab, capps, whatever! We're oppressed! We're being objectified by covering ourselves up?! *makes little splorfly sounds* So much insanity.

Woodpeckers and Grasshoppers

Okay, this is not the 'post of content' that I was thinking about making, but I've got a bunch of nature pics, so you get a nature post.

These were taken on Wednesday, when I was cleaning bad tomatoes out of the garden I came across this big grasshopper. My dad called him a 'looger', but I can't find any such thing though the all knowing Google.

Saturday he was hanging out on our pool cage.

And today he was on one of the sunflower leaves.

Woodpeckers, of the juvenile variety. They're two of them, but I admit they're kind of hard to see. The video below *point* is my attempt to make sure you can see them. On the right, you can see one of them moving.

They're nest was in this big old dead tree. They've just started flying out and about.

Movie Post

I actually want to do a post with, you know, content, but that'll have to wait until I get home tonight. So, because I'm bored at lunch:

What're some movies that you *always* have to watch? I mean, you're flipping chanels, you see what's on, and you stop to watch it. Even though you've seen it a million times and can quote whole sections of dialogue.

For me, here's a few:

The Princess Bride
The Abyss
Fight Club

Beginning Faith Classes - What to Teach

So, as some of you might be aware, I'm supposed to help teach the beginning faith classes at my parish next year. When I say help, I mean teach, along with another woman from my RCIA class who's never taught before either. *cough* Anyway...

Um...our religious ed director has still not gotten around to showing us books or even giving us a hint of what we're to be expected to cover. And, this is driving me slightly mad. I like to be prepared! My contingency plans have contingency plans!

So. In an effort to feel slightly more prepared...

What are some things that you think should be covered in a basic/beginning faith class for kids who are (from what I've been told) around 6 years old?

Buddy B.

This is our Jack Russell Terrier, Buddy. He's 15, and we just heard from the vet that his kidneys are failing. There's something they can try, but given his age, they hold out no hope.

My mother just made the appointment to have him put down tomorrow. I have no idea why I'm posting this except to share my misery.

If you'll excuse me, I'll be over here, crying.

Jacob, Rachel and Leah

Just one of those random questions that pop up in my head.

Jacob was tricked into marrying the 'wrong' sister, Leah.

I get that the bride was veiled, etc. But...come the actual wedding night, shouldn't he have realized he was bedding the wrong woman? I don't think she kept the veil on the whole night...

The only explanation I've seen put forth for this is that Jacob was drunk (and I mean really, really drunk - like, nine sheets to the wind drunk) by the time consummation came around. That his father in law, Laban, got him purposefully drunk so he wouldn't notice.

It's Okay to Ask for Help

So, some of the replies on my whinging post about dating, etc. made me realize something.

I don't ask for help.

It just doesn't occur to me, when I'm trying to do something, to ask someone else for assistance, and if I hurt myself, I typically don't even ask for help then.

For instance, the stick through the foot incident: We live on 3 acres of land. Not huge, but not your typical back yard. The bushes that so maliciously attacked me were along the fence at the very back of the property. I was walking two of the dogs at the time, on leashes, because they can't be trusted not to go over the fence after a bunny or something. So, I had to limp back, with both dogs trying to help, sniffing the blood, etc. But here's the thing: *I had my cell phone with me*. I could have called the house and somebody could have come out to at least take the dogs which would have made the trip back easier. But it didn't even occur to me until my mother asked me why I didn't do it.

That's somewhat of an extreme example, I'm not usually bleeding when I do things on my own.

But it's typical. I don't ask for things. I don't ask for help. I should be able to do it myself.

I'm not the kid buttering up her parents for toys, and I'm not the kid hanging off their mothers arm screaming 'I want it!'. I'm the kid climbing up on the counter to get the dishes, or sitting there, quietly, *wanting* something and wondering why no one gives it to me. Because they should just *know* that of course I want it.

I want to get married. I want oodles of children. I want a wonderful husband that I love and who loves me back just as much.

But I've never bothered to ask. I've been alternately trying to do it myself, and sitting in my corner wondering why 'Dad' won't just give me what He knows I want.

So. I've got to learn to ask. Easier said than done, I'm guessing.

Sex, Ducks and Fire

First, the fire portion! That's my hand after playing in some of the sooty stuff that's come floating down in our yard.



Next, not a duck, a mocking bird. My dog has killed several of these guys. Not the Pomeranian, my Shiba Inu. He's our 'great white hunter'.



Duck on a flag pole.



Ducks.



Same ducks, a little closer.



Same ducks, closer still.

I actually got parallel to them, but they flew off before I could get the picture.

That's all...

Oh, wait, I said something about sex, you say?

I can't believe I....

Well...okay, if you insist.

Kids out of the room?

I give you....sex!

Lizard love!

First time my dad saw these two, he thought they were fighting. This same pair keeps mating on our pool screen. It's embarrassing.

Dear Universe,

I long for the days of arranged marriages.

Dating sucks.

Jilbab

EDIT: You can still give me opinions, cause I like to hear 'em, but I splurged and bought both! I'm weak.

Opinion time again! Because really, that's why ya'll're here, is so I can bounce fashion choices off you. ;-)

I present, two jilbab. Well, according to the site, one abaya and one jilbab. Though, if what I've understood from some posts on the subject at Pixie's site, both are Qur'anic jilbab, but the styles have been given differing names, i.e. abaya and jilbab. I know, not something you needed to know. *hand wavey*

Wrap abaya:




Very basic, but I still like it, and I *believe* it's the same kind that I've seen on Coffee Catholic.

Hooded jilbab:




Ummm...it's gotta hood. Doesn't that make everyone happy?

Both of these are from Al-Mujalbaba.

Both are basically the same price, and both come in a size that will fit me. Also, both come in a variety of colors. Um, yeah. So. Thoughts?

Also, I blame Coffee Catholic for this. *points finger in direction of Scotland* This is all your fault!

Documentary: A Time for Burning

This was something I accidentally came across, recorded, and just got around to watching last night. To be perfectly honest, there was no description information on the tv, so I thought it might have been about the Salem Witch Trials or something. Turns out it was about race relations in 1960's Omaha. Slightly different.

It was very, very good. Fairly short, maybe 50 minutes. The basic premise is this: A Lutheran pastor (Rev. L. William Youngdahl) wants to begin integrating his white church. Now, it's not like he picked up a couple of black families and plopped them into his congregation with no warning. He was going through the board, the proper channels - what he wanted to do, as a first step, was set up a sort of exchange program. Put two or three of their families together with two or three families from the black Lutheran church in town. Let them get to know each other. Because, as he says in the film, most of his congregants don't even *know* anyone who's not white.

It goes about as well as you'd expect, and the pastor winds up resigning. There's no violence or anything, at least not that's recorded in the film, or anything that I could read about it. It's just... well. I'm one, I think, if at all possible, everyone should read/listen/watch a thing, rather than have it described to them, or even read a summary. I was going to just recommend that, should you get the chance, you watch it, but then I found the whole thing on YouTube.

So, here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUvlzk2tvaY

Also, here's the link to the Wikipedia article on it: A Time for Burning. I know, Wikipedia, but I read the article, and it matches what I found other places, and has it in the nicest, most concise format.

And this is the quote that stuck with me (it also happens to be quoted in the Wikipedia article - which just proves how striking it is): "This one lady said to me, pastor, she said, I want them to have everything I have, I want God to bless them as much as He blesses me, but, she says, pastor, I just can't be in the same room with them, it just bothers me."

Birthdays and Technical Hijab Difficulties

I turned 27 on Friday. Go team me!

My family has never made a huge deal out of birthdays. When we were kids, we'd have small parties, presents, cake, etc. It was fun, but as we've gotten older, it's been more, 'what do you want'. And I don't do parties. So...very quiet. I got swag, which is always nice. Penguin stuff, mostly cutesy, though my friend Eve brought me back a porcelain penguin from Russia. And my new camera was a bday present from my parents, though I am not 'ept enough to use it properly.

We went out to dinner with my Grandmother (mother's mother).

What did I decide to do for the first time on my birthday?

Wear khimar properly outside my house. I was...semi-hijab, let's say, because I'm certain that an actual Muslim would point out several 'deficiencies' in my outfit. But I covered the basic bases. Loose slacks, a dress over that that hits below my knees, a long sleeve shirt under the dress, etc. And then the khimar. Underscarf, and then just wrap and pin. Very simple, covering the chest, etc. I sort of decided to do this on the fly, so I didn't have any pins, or even safety pins. When I wear them at home, in the yard, I just clip it closed with a barrette.

I decided to use an earring. I mean, it's basically just a short little pin, right? And with the back, it should work. But, just to be safe, I brought along two barrettes in case something went wrong, or I decided to switch it back to the way I usually wear it.

Walk out the door:

Mom - I don't like it that way, it makes your face look fat.

*ponder in the car, since I'm not driving*

Me - Okay, but since I *am* fat, so what? So, Mom, I'm just going to ignore you. (Which is what I actually said to her)

*pick up grandmother*

Grammy - You know I don't like you covering your hair.

Me - It's my head. (Seriously, I've tried explaining, but it doesn't sink in. You have to know the woman)

*driving some more* *earring pops out, back is lost to the netherrealms of the truck seats*

Me - Bugger.

So, I fixed it in the car, putting it back the way I usually do, which leaves the front of my neck and whatever chest isn't covered by my top exposed. Which, given the clothes I wear, isn't a lot or anything.

We ate dinner, dropped Grammy back at her place, and then my parents decided to stop at Sams. So, I decided to try again, and redid it, 'pinning' it with one of the barrettes. Not the most fashionable of things, but it didn't clash, and it held.

Secondary technical difficulty - I tend to walk at a purposeful, brisk pace. This causes the two ends of the scarf to sort of fly up and back. Clearly, it needs to be pinned down there as well.

I'm pretty sure people stared, but to be honest I just ignored them. It didn't make me nervous, I didn't feel weird, just sort of unhappy that my experiment was marred by the 'technical difficulties'. I'll do it again, but better prepared next time.

New Camera, Hijab, Niqab

New Camera, why are you fuzzy? I suppose I must read the instructions... :)

However, I like this outfit, the funky pink top, black undershirt and jean skirt. Opinions? Despite the fuzziness, for which my techno-ineptness is to blame, I am certain.

Also, what is it about niqab? It's just...beautiful...seriously, I try it on, and it's like a whole 'nother person...

What does it say that I think this is my favorite picture of myself?

second pic a little fuzzy, yes, because, you know, camera issues...

Children and Modesty

I've been thinking about children recently. I don't have any, of course, but I do pray that one day I'll marry and have children.


Really, though, what's come to mind recently is that, not only do we need to, as parents, or even just adults in the world, need to set an example. Children learn by example, they want to imitate their parents, or their favorite aunt or uncle, a teacher. You get the point. :)

The whole world is oversexed, less (cloth) is more, etc. While I feel that children do need to be taught the 'facts of life' and the proper names for sex organs (this is for, God forbid, sexual abuse issues - if a child knows what a penis is, what a vagina is, then they don't need to resort to euphemisms, and can tell a parent or another adult when there is inappropriate touching and exactly what was happening). But they need to be taught these things in the proper way, not just exposed to nudity and sex and violence all mixed up together. However, it doesn't even stop there. Have you looked at kids clothes lately? They're mini versions of adult clothes, which aren't all that modest in the first place, and then, it seems like we think we can dress kids in even just a little bit less, because they're kids, and they don't know sex yet. And that's where we fail, in so many ways. They're kids, and they sure as hell *shouldn't* have any idea about sex in that respect, but they do, because we've allowed it to permeate everything in our society.

Because I'm a big believer in visual aids:

JonBenet Ramsey. I only use her picture because I'm wary of using just some random kids pic, in some of those pageant outfits. And this was one of the less sexualized pics I could find! Do I really need to explain what's wrong with this?

And a small variety of modest clothes for girls. A little Muslim, a little Amish, and just some others. Okay, the Victorian style dress might be a little much, but I thought it was pretty! :)

(Aren't they just *so cute*!)

(This is from a site called Biblical Garden)

(This & the next two are from Katie's Mercantile)








Also, because it's just an example of someone missing the point:




A skin tight t-shirt advocating Christian modesty. *headdesk*


So, if I have a point, I think it's this: We need to, not only set an example for our children of what is and is not acceptable in terms of dress and our actions, but we need to start them out from the beginning! You can't dress your kid up like a hooker and then expect them to dress modestly once puberty hits! They're going to be facing enough trouble in the world, why are we adding to it?