Weekend Catch Up

Hope all of you beauties had a wonderful long weekend! I'm so glad that the weather decided to hold out and time could be spent soaking up some much needed sun. My weekend was relatively tame, as I started it off by heading to Office Max to buy a planner (don't threaten me with a good time!). Office supplies are the best, and I don't trust people who don't think so.

Saturday, Ma and I headed to walk an errand or two, and then stopped to walk through Bonifest. I ended up heading back over there that night to hang out with some girlfriends, and ran into probably 786 people. I think that's always the case at town events. Sunday, I headed to a fish fry in Holiday Shores with some friends and had such a great time -- trust me to be the one to hightail it straight to the puppy and the baby.

Yesterday ended up being my first lake day of the year! Worried that it was going to rain all day, I had plans to curl up on the couch with Netflix. So glad the sun was out, and I headed to the Shores again for some Marina sitting and boat riding. Perfect way to cap off the weekend!

I absolutely LOVE getting to see friends that I don't see very often. Who doesn't? Back into the swing of things this week -- be strong, beauties, it's only a 4 day week! :)

Back to School, Back to School....

As of Monday, it's official --- this girl is heading to grad school! I am so excited and absolutely delighted that life seems to be getting itself on track. I've always been someone who has enjoyed school and being in an academic environment, and I cannot wait to jump back in. Tara Huntley, M.P.A has THE BEST ring to it, don't you think?

Also, if anyone is interested, some girlfriends of mine and I do an online book club via a group on Facebook, Beyond the Bindings. This month's selection is The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. We would love to have you join us! 

Stay warm and cozy today, beauties. Where did May go? Sheesh. Though honestly, I can't pretend I don't absolutely LOVE this weather. Cold and rainy days are my favorite days. 

Weekend Update

Happy Monday, beauties! I have to start out by saying, I'm pretty sure I just mastered the top knot. Which, I'm sure no one cares about but me, but I AM DELIGHTED. Every time I threw my hair up, I would end up looking like I'd just come out of a 4 day bender. Today though, I conquered it! So, you know, celebrate amongst yourselves.

I hope everyone has had wonderful weekends and are starting to get out and enjoy the beauuuutiful weather before it turns into the depths of hell. Mine was a quiet one, hung out with Mummy and did some laundry....I live wildly. I may have also climbed a tree, just because I feel like channeling your inner 7 year old is important sometimes.

I also did something rare for me this weekend, I started 2 books at once (look, I already stated above I live wildly. What did you think I was going to say---I robbed a bank?). I've never been one to read more than one book at a time, as I like to focus all my energy into the world I'm reading about. But, Mummy and I stopped by the library this weekend and I can't walk out of any book selling or renting establishment empty handed. There was a biography on Billie Holiday that I couldn't walk away from, so that has been added to my pile along with finishing up The Royal We. That's just my "currently reading" pile. My TBR (or To Be Read) pile looks like a small Barnes & Noble. I'd say I'm easily at 50, and those are just the books I actually own. 

What are the books currently sitting in your TBR pile? I'm anxious to know if I need to add yet another....or 67. 

Please Still Love Me....

Alright, there really is no excuse this time. This time, I got lazy. Every time I would sit down to write something, I just couldn't get anything to flow. I couldn't articulate anything of any real substance, so I figured, "what's the point?" A week became a month, and I almost wanted to give up. What was there to write about anymore? I don't want to post just for the sake of posting. I want my blog to be about things I care about and that make me happy.

So, if it's been a few days and I haven't posted, please feel free to kick my booty into gear. There is so much fantastic stuff out there that needs to be talked about and discussed and dissected, and I can't wait to get into it. Until then, let's all remember my favorite mantra to get myself through a difficult day.

Happy Friday, beauties.

Miss Me?

Sorry for the radio silence, beauties! Life got in the way. Hopefully I'm now back and ready to give my blog the love and attention it needs. I suppose the biggest news that's happened is that I finally decided to go back to grad school. I applied at SIUE for my Masters in Public Administration. My goal is to ultimately work for a non-profit. I've toyed with the idea of going back to school for a long time and am so glad I decided to finally bite the bullet. I've always done well in an academic environment and was one of those nerds who always liked school. I am incredibly happy and excited, as I think I'm finally doing what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. 

I promise I won't abandon you for so long, again! Till next time. 

Women's History Month: Jeannette Rankin

It's Tuesday, and that means it's time for another badass woman to spotlight. Today, we're looking at Jeannette Rankin, the first woman to serve in the United States Congress.

                                              (Credit: Biography)

Born in Montana on June 11, 1880, Rankin was the oldest of six children, who had a reputation for doing things that, at the time, girls just didn't do. She would often help the ranch hands with their machinery, and once, actually built a sidewalk single-handedly, to help her father rent a building.

Graduating in 1902 from the University of Montana with a bachelor's degree in Biology, Rankin was undecided on where to go next. She attempted both furniture design and dressmaking, though neither one was right for her. From 1908-1909, she attended the New York School of Philanthropy, and afterwards moved to Spokane, Washington. There, she worked as a social worker for a short amount of time, before attending the University of Washington and involving herself in the woman's suffrage movement.

Elected to the House of Representatives in 1916, she stated that "I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won't be the last." She served two terms in Congress, both coinciding with each World War. She helped pass the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, and was the only member of Congress who voted against declaring war on Japan after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

After her terms in Congress, Rankin did a lot of traveling, especially to India, where she studied the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. As the second wave of feminism began to take shape in the 1960's and 70's, Rankin was seen as an inspiration and in 1968, the Jeannette Rankin Brigade was formed by a coalition of women's peace groups. 

Passing away at the age of 92 in 1973, Rankin's legacy rests largely on her pacifism. Though, as she herself said, "I want to be remembered as the only woman who ever voted to give women the right to vote." 

Women's History Month: Anna Freud

Happy Thursday, beauties! And Happy Women's History Month! Today, the spotlight will be on Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund and the founder of child psychoanalysis. 

                                    (Arriving in Paris in 1938, with her father).
                                                  (Credit: BBC News)

Born in Vienna on December 3, 1895, Anna was the last of Sigmund and Martha Freud's six children. Though not extremely close with her mother or siblings, Anna did have a close bond with her father. It was through this bond that she was first introduced to psychoanalysis at the age of 14. Not really one for school, Anna learned more from her father and his guests at their home, picking up languages such as German, French and Italian. 

In 1918, Anna began psychoanalysis with her father, and started to become seriously involved in his profession. In 1922, her analysis was completed, when she then presented a paper to the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, and became a member. She began her own practice in 1923, dedicated to the psychoanalysis of children, and two years later, was teaching at the Vienna Psychoanalytic Training Institute. Anna was secretary of the International Psychoanalytical Association from 1925 to 1934, continuing her work with children and conducting seminars and conferences. 

Due to the Nazi harassment of Jews in Vienna, the Freud's fled to London in 1938. She continued her work in London while simultaneously caring for her father, who succumbed to cancer in the fall of 1939. Shortly thereafter, during World War II, Anna set up a center for young victims of war called the Hampstead War Nursery, where children would get foster care. Due to her work with Hampstead, Anna published a series of studies on the impact that stress has on children and the ability to find affections when their parents could not give them. 

From the 1950's onward, Anna would travel to America, giving lectures and teaching. In 1959, she became a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She also taught seminars on crime and family at Yale Law School in the 1970's, leading to Beyond the Best Interests of the Child, published in 1973 with Joseph Goldstein and Albert Solnit. 

Anna Freud passed away on October 9, 1982 in London. A year later, in 1983, her collected works were published, and a year after that, in 1984, the Hampstead center was renamed the "Anna Freud Center." Her home in London became the Freud Museum, per her wishes, and is dedicated to her father. 

                                               (Credit: Glogster)