Bookish + Not So Bookish Thoughts

Linking up with Christine over at Bookishly Boisterous!

01. I think it's about time for my annual Facebook Fast in which I try to stay off a FB for a while. There is way too much negativity on that thing with Current Events and it's just too much for me.

02. I am all for people having their own opinions. I personally believe that it is healthy and important for people to form their own decisions about things. I think that it's important to voice your opinions and to stand up for what you believe in. I think voicing good, factual opinions helps other people to form their own opinions and decisions and can lead to healthy, constructive discussion. I DO NOT think that it is okay to yell at or ridicule or demean someone else just because their opinion is different from yours!

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03. That being said, I also think that if we spent more time voicing our opinions to our government leaders than voicing them on FB maybe something actually could get done. No matter what your stance on the issue are, nothings going to happen if you only choose to complain on FB...complaining on social media honestly helps no one. Take all that energy/time you're wasting on social media and actually write to the government! You can contact the White House here or learn how to contact your individual state government officials here.

04. Alright...enough with the politics...I just needed to get that stuff off my shoulders. So yesterday, I watched BuzzFeed video's YouTube videos about people revisiting their first Instagram photos and their first Facebook profile pictures. Here are mine: 

(Facebook: Oh, sweet 20-year-old Tasia and Puppy!Lady...how cute and young were you two? Also...those eyebrows, doe. Thankfully we make better eyebrow choices now.)

(Instagram: 23y.o. Tasia is seriously cute...and that HAIR doe.)

05. I feel like it's taking me so long to get through books lately....I don't really know how to get out of this whole slump thing. I guess time will tell.

06. Yesterday was Mickey and Minnie's 87th birthday! Can you believe that they've been around for 87 years?! I can't even imagine my life without Mickey and Minnie (or Disney), let alone imagine the world without them. One day I'll celebrate their birthday with them....

07. I've been spending a lot of time looking at Bridesmaids dresses online lately in preparation for my BFF's wedding next September. I've found a few that I like but I don't really want to commit until I've actually tried something on...which is extremely difficult when you live in Hawaii where resources are seriously limited. I need to get on it, though...September is going to be here in no time at all!

08. I seriously, seriously need to make myself a TBR jar. I've been looking at a few on Pinterest and around the bloggy-web and I have been inspired! Plus, maybe it'll help with my whole No-Book-Buying thing...

09. I want to cut my hair because I don't think I've actually gotten a hair cut for 2 years now. My hair is ridiculously long and while I do love it, it's also ridiculously hot. And Honey is learning how to pull Mommy's hair. So I think it's time for a cut...but I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

10. I am trying to put together a gift list for Josh. He's a huge gamer geek who loves Pokemon and playing video games. The catch: It needs to be under $20! Help??

Mommy Thoughts In the Face of Disaster

This weekend, I chose to refrain from posting on the blog to express a kind of ʻmoment of silenceʻ for the utterly devastating events that took place in Paris & other places throughout the world last week. I did have thoughts and things that I wanted to say but, because I was unsure about to express said thoughts, I decided that silence would be best...at least until I figured out what I wanted to say. Today, I am ready to express my thoughts and feelings. I can only hope that what I have in my mind and my heart translates well...

Whenever I checked my Facebook on Friday, it seemed that bad news filled my feed. Earthquakes in Mexico and Japan, bombings in Baghdad and Beirut, and finally the terrorist attacks in Paris. In the span of 24 hours, nearly 120,000 lives were lost. 120,000 people who were sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, and friends. 120, 000 people who possibly had plans for their lives...suddenly gone. Needless to say, I held my daughter a bit closer and a bit longer that night.

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Late on that night as I was scrolling through my friendʻs status updates, a comment someone made caught my eye. I canʻt remember what it said exactly but it was somewhere along the lines of: "Even if I wanted kids, I wouldnʻt want to bring them into a world like this."

That made me stop and think.

I thought about my daughter and about this timeframe in which she was born. I worried that things like this--bombings, natural disasters, wars, and rumors of wars--would be the norm of her childhood. I wondered if I was wrong to bring her into the world at a time like this when it seems that unrest and fear is prevalent throughout the world. I worried that there was nothing that I could do to protect her from all the things that were wrong with the world.

Then I stopped to pray. I prayed for those throughout the world who were hurting that night--who would be hurting for days, months, years even, on end. I prayed for the lives that were lost and I prayed for those who lost friends and family members in the horrific events that occurred. I prayed that their hearts and minds would be comforted and that, in their time of need, they would see the good in the world...that they would be healed with time and love. I prayed for the first-responders and all the emergency personnel who would be on the scene to help those who were affected by the events.

And I prayed for myself. I prayed for the comfort to know that my daughter was born at this time for a reason. I prayed for the strength and the faith to raise my daughter to be a good, kind person. I prayed that I would be able to see the good in the world and that I would be able to teach her that there is good out there. I prayed for my sweet little girl. I prayed that, though she may see injustice and fear and unrest and hatred, that she would know who to look to for love, kindness, peace, and justice.

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Being a mom is so, so scary without having to worry about all the horrible things going on in the world today. Trust me, I worry nearly every single moment of every single day about my kid. But through my prayer, I found comfort. 

Even though there isnʻt much I can do regarding natural disasters or terror attacks, there are things that I can do for my daughter...to help her stand strong and faithful in the face of these kinds of things. I can teach her to pray and to rely on her Heavenly Father. I can teach her to be compassionate and service minded. I can instill in her a love to serve others in her every day life so that when things like this happens, she will have the desire to serve them. I can teach her to seek comfort from her Heavenly Father or from those around her when things that scare her happens. I can be there for her to explain to her that these things do happen, but that it should not affect her view of the world. I can show her that goodness does exist in the world. I can be her example of good. 

Iʻm sure that, at some point, every parent has wanted to lock their kid in a room where they canʻt get hurt and nothing bad can ever happen to them. Unfortunately, we canʻt do that...we can only hope to teach and show our kids the best things about the world that we live in.

Bookish/Not-so-Bookish Thoughts

Linking up with Christine

01. Throwing in a bit of a #TBT with that picture even though it isnʻt even Christmas yet (but it is Thursday) because a) I miss those girls and b) I miss that bow...and that outfit. Thatʻs from when I worked at Disney World back in 2013...that was our costume during Christmas parties! TAKE ME BACK.

02. Iʻm actually really tired so weʻll see how far I get with this whole thoughts thing because, honestly, Iʻm not thinking about much at all right now.

03. Currently, I am in a kinda weird reading mood type thing. I wouldnʻt call it a slump because itʻs not that I donʻt want to read...itʻs more that Iʻm taking much longer than usual to get through books and Iʻm a little annoyed by that. I am not a speed reader at all, but I do usually read a bit faster than what Iʻm reading right now. Might have something to do with a certain 3 month old taking up my time but...eh.

04. Honey and I spend a lot of time reading together. Most of the time, Iʻll just read whatever I happen to be reading to her but last week, I read her books to her since Iʻve been cleaning out her bookshelves. That may have something to do with the weird mood Iʻve been in.

05. Today, we had a double baby shower at my job for two of my co-workers! Theyʻre both having/had baby boys. It was so much fun to hang out with each other outside of work (not that I work very often anyway lol) and to just enjoy each otherʻs company. And to celebrate the new additions to the ʻohana of course! Plus, Honey had lots of Aunties to play with and to carry her.

06. I have been speaking Hawaiian to Lilia when weʻre by ourselves during the day. I definitely should have started when she was born, but 3 months isnʻt too late at all! I really want her to speak some kind of language other than English and since Hawaiian is the language that I know, Hawaiian it will be!

Annnnd my brain is going to sleep now! So 6 is all the thoughts I have for today. Whatʻs on your mind?