He's here.

Owen Dean Farnworth was born December 20.

I won't bore you with the birth story. It was my first shot at hypnobirthing, and while the hypnotism wasn't a huge success, it definitely helped me breathe, which helped me survive unmedicated. The birth was quick (thankfully) and Owen is doing so well.

Veteran's Day: WASP

{source}

As a teenager, I was fascinated by these amazing women. Here is a poem I wrote, which was published in an anthology and featured on a kids' website.

The Wounds of A Hero

As she began to turn

and go,

she looked to her son

and told him so.

She saw the tears

well in his eyes

and felt pain and guilt

begin to rise.

The soul of a boy

had touched her own;

she hugged him tight

and soon she'd flown.

She earned her wings

and now she flew

away from the life

and boy she knew.

The wounds of a hero

we may never know,

but let us remember

of long ago.

World War II in Color

Beautiful World War II images in color. Check it out.

A Hero.

I'm definitely planning to focus this blog back to it's original intentions--history. I just watched the movie Pearl Harbor and despite it's many historically inaccuracies, realized I am still very much in love with it.

The character I am most drawn to is based on a real man, Dorie Miller. He was an African American in the Navy during World War II, which meant his duties were kept to little more than a cook, actually less than a cook. He did laundry and cleaned up after others ate. He had never even fired a weapon. On the day of the attack, he took his place at an abandoned gun and shot down one of the Japanese Zeros. Only 29 Japanese Zeros were shot down on December 7; his was one of them. Pretty amazing.

He was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. did an excellent job portraying him and paying homage to this unsung hero of World War II.

Charlie Brown

It's true. Our own little "Charlie Brown" is on his/her way.

See the resemblance?

Jeff and I are so excited. C.B. is due December 20, and we cannot wait. Many new chapters are ahead for us and that's what makes this waiting chapter even more exciting/long/terrifying/thrilling.

Don't mind the mess.

I'm playing with CSS.

In fact, I'm pretty excited that my first very simple attempt worked. Woo hoo! Now for more challenging tests.

Soon this blog will be up and running and updated more often with historically interesting articles and information. I'm feeling motivated right now.

Just a Romantic

That's right. That's me. Historically, culinarily, hopefully, hopelessly, literarily, authorially. A romantic. A romantic who is learning to listen to her heart.

P.S. The shoe (designed for Queen Victoria) has nothing to do with anything. I just like it.

Speaking of History

This TV show on Netflix is fantastic. I am in complete love and I'm only on episode four. The show highlights the culture of the Titanic era. It begins with the death of two family members on the Titanic, which changes the fortune of the family. The acting is amazing. It is so subtle that on many occasions, I feel the characters are real instead of actors, which is quite a feat.

Seriously, if you like period dramas, you must watch Downton Abbey

Full Circle

Sometimes my life takes an unexpected turn and then here I am again in the same place having come full circle.

I am loving the film Titanic again, which is no surprise to those who know me because Titanic will always be buried deep inside my heart to come out every now and then. It's funny it would happen now, but I think some of it has to do with the weather.

For me Spring and Summer just smells like the ships I love. This is probably because when I was younger I used to study and write about them from the park outside my house during these times. I love to read and study about these ships, so don't be surprised if someday soon you see more and more facts popping up about my favorite ships, the Titanic and the Lusitania.

The other day I was asked why I am fascinated by these ships. I couldn't come up with a good answer. Is it the tragedy of it all? Maybe.

Is it the beauty of the ships? Definitely.

Is it the time period? For sure.

There is something so artistic and beautiful about the ships and something so poetic and terrible about each demise. The end of an era was the Titanic and the murder of innocents for one of the first times in war history was the Lusitania.

Anyway, I'll explore these and many other ideas with you through this little blog soon.

96 years ago

Jealous of a Third World Country

Yes, I am. I miss it. I miss you, Paraguay. More specifically, I miss my friends there. It makes me sad that it may be a long while before I see them again. One of the sisters from my mission is headed there shortly and I'm preparing a little package to send to my dearest family there. Here are some pictures.

My first ever D.I. project

Jeff and my two very talented sisters-in-law are often finding great projects at thrift stores, and while I've always admired their talent, I never thought I would be able to do it myself.

Well... I did it. Finally. My first ever completed D.I. project. You heard me--completed. I've certainly started a lot, but never followed through. This is a huge step for me. (okay, there are a couple minor things to finish, but very minor.)

Just look at the before...

and after an entire day of sanding and painting...

followed by another day of painting...

and another day of completely reupholstering the cushion (I had to create my own. The previous cushion was hashed. Jeff thinks this came from the Civil War era.)

And the final product...

So there you have it. If you have any reupholstering (or creating your own cushion) questions, send them my way because after one chair, I'm pretty sure I'm an expert.

A big thank you to Jeff who taught me many of the ins and outs of reupholstery. To see some of his work, go to his blog. (He's the real expert.)

Excuse the ellipses. If one of my students used that many, I would have a fit, but, hey, this is an unveiling after all.

driving home

My hometown.

It isn't much.

In fact, there are times when I can't wait to leave.

I'm excited to see new sights, and perhaps live near an Ikea and have more restaurant choices

someday,

but nothing beats a sunset here

or the smell of the harvest

or the dripping of melting snow...

I'm still waiting for that.

I am completely inspired.

This is incredible.

Vernon & Irene Castle

Okay, do you remember a long time ago (my second blog post) when I posted dance steps to a ragtime dance taught by Vernon and Irene Castle? Well, Edwardian Promenade found actual footage of their dances. I was so giddy with excitement that I had to post it immediately.

I finally did it.

I created a food blog.
Check out Culinary Romantic.

Not all who wander are lost.

I've had a difficult week, but I was gently reminded this morning at 4:00 a.m. (I hadn't yet fallen asleep) that my life is actually quite a wonderful thing. Really it is.  All things happen for a reason, and I believe that this difficult fight with mono and all my other fights for health have happened for a specific reason. I'm ready to embrace this mono until it leaves and just enjoy every minute of my life. Life is not to wish away, after all. It's about enjoying the journey, even if it's hard.

I've had a lot of time to think about my life and my paths, and while I'm still uncertain about them, the one thing I know is that I want to be creative. I've started writing again. I spent almost the entire day yesterday writing. Do you know how long it's been since I spent so long writing? I wrote again today. I'll probably write some more.

I have been wandering. I'm still wandering, and while I have felt lost, I don't think I really am.

That's all.

Most of my posts recently have been rather introspective, and if you don't like that, I'm sorry, but I guess you don't have to read if you don't want to.

Sad, but good.

I've been using StumbleUpon lately, and I'm completely addicted. I've been sick all day today and in between sleeping and reading, I've found a lot of amazing websites. Please see the video below as an example.


Crater Face from Skyler Page on Vimeo.

Holstee Manifesto

I'm not sure what Holstee Manifesto means, but I like it! You may have to zoom in to read it all.

This should be the--rather long--mantra of my new simplified life.

{Found here}

So true, and so unfortunate.

{Found here}

"You go, girls."

That was Jeffrey's reaction to this picture. Mine too.

{found here}

500 Years of Women Portraits

500 Years Of Female Portraits In Western Art - The most popular videos are here