Sister Pearl's World

Lia had her spay surgery this week. She is home now, healing...

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:31:13 -0400

Lia had her spay surgery this week. She is home now, healing well! Though she hates the Cone of Shame and the fact that she can’t run or jump for a few weeks.

goldiknocks: in every moment of anxiety, frustration and pain; in every tear that runs down my...

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:41:00 -0400

goldiknocks:

in every moment of anxiety, frustration and pain; in every tear that runs down my cheek; in the wild/uninhibited laughter; in all the thoughts that are obsessive and filled with regret…

there is a glimmer of gratitude.

because i am feeling. would i want it any other way?

The many gifts of the Camino de Santiago.

Buen Camino, peregrina!

4nduril: the long descent by manyfires on Flickr. I...

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:07:11 -0400

4nduril:

the long descent by manyfires on Flickr.

I immediately recognized this as Carrauntoohill, Ireland’s tallest peak. Ten years ago, my friends and I headed for the summit. I was still struggling with a knee injury, so when we reached that lake you see in the picture, my friends climbed on and I stayed back along the shores. While I was disappointed that I couldn’t make it to the top, I don’t regret my decision. It turned out to be several of the most peaceful hours of my life. I saw and experienced some incredible, savage, yet also tranquil, beauty. I would go back in a heartbeat.

umalik: How religions change their mind (William Kremer) Once...

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:39:28 -0400

umalik:

How religions change their mind (William Kremer)

Once upon a time, animal sacrifice was an important part of Hindu life, Catholic priests weren’t celibate and visual depictions of the Prophet Muhammad were part of Islamic art. And soon some churches in the UK may be marrying gay couples. How do religions manage to change their mind? (complete article)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid has just accurately summed up my life. And...

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:44:27 -0400

Diary of a Wimpy Kid has just accurately summed up my life. And I’m in my thirties.

poodls: Come on Lacey by corbiess on Flickr. Oh my goodness,...

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:40:20 -0400

poodls:

Come on Lacey by corbiess on Flickr.

Oh my goodness, she looks just like our Lia! JUST like Lia!

"David has an impeccable sense of what’s best for Tumblr, and he doesn’t need anyone else telling him..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:36:58 -0400

“David has an impeccable sense of what’s best for Tumblr, and he doesn’t need anyone else telling him what’s best for the product. Many people, myself included, have tried to convince him to go different directions, and we’ve been proven wrong every time. Tumblr is David, and David is Tumblr.”

- The One-Person Product (via azspot)

Tumblr is my safe space.

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:40:46 -0400

I have been with tumblr since the beginning. That’s right. I’m an old-timer. I’ve stayed for a very clear reason. I am able to say things here that I can’t in most other venues of my life. I’m able to express myself more openly and honestly here than anywhere else. On tumblr, I have met people who make me feel less alone and far more ‘normal’ than I ever meet in ‘real life’. I mean, where else can a headscarf-wearing American Muslim convert, infertile, bisexual, middle-school Spanish teacher who loves house music and her poodles find support and community?

Over the years, I have seen Tumblr grow from a small start-up with two young guys running it in a small NYC office to a big company with 100+ employees. I’ve been through developments and changes, like the first addition of comments and messaging (awesome!) to the briefly-lived tumblarity (thank God that’s gone). I’ve watched some of my favorite bloggers come and go, and made some amazing connections. Tumblr was my only connection to my loved ones during a horrific tragedy in 2009, and since then, it has helped the wounds heal. I’ve had my comfort zone challenged here more times that I can count, and I’m always grateful.

I stay because this is my safe space, this is a very real community for me, this is a place where I have found support, entertainment, healing and friendship.

Yahoo, please remember this. Don’t screw this up for me or for the other beloved members of my tumblr family.

Lia is all tuckered out after a weekend of running and chasing...

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:51:20 -0400

Lia is all tuckered out after a weekend of running and chasing and wrestling.

My garden produces such incredible little treasures.

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:01:21 -0400

My garden produces such incredible little treasures.

The columbines are blooming again.

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:59:37 -0400

The columbines are blooming again.

Happy birthday Wally! Our baby boy is one year old today :)

Sun, 19 May 2013 07:47:18 -0400

Happy birthday Wally! Our baby boy is one year old today :)

Photo

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:50:53 -0400

"Each time I’m asked to tell about myself, I find myself starting the same way: “My name is Kelsey..."

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:57:16 -0400

“

Each time I’m asked to tell about myself, I find myself starting the same way: “My name is Kelsey and I’m nineteen..”
but what I’d really like to say is:
“My name means island of the ships but once
I found a translation that said I’m a burning shipwreck-
not a burning ship but a ship that has caught fire
after the wreckage and well, I’d say that’s more fitting.”

I’ve learned that people don’t have time for about me’s.
They need two things: a name and an indication you’re someone special.

The doctors, they want facts not details.
“I broke my leg when I was three, it’s a funny story actually-“
The right or the left?
Conversation over.

The teachers, they want interests, hobbies.
You’re sad, yes, but what do you like to do?

The adults are a spew of questions.
What school do you go to? What classes are you taking?
What do you plan on becoming? Got a boyfriend?
No, stop.

People my own age are the worst.
“I’m planning on an English degree with a concentration in creative writing.”
Yeah, aren’t we all. So how many times have you, you know,
done it?

I’m pulled apart, my interests travelling highway 2
my goals at a stop light at traffic hour,
my medical history on a billboard for the world to see.
But what about me?

Where’s the chance to say,
“I hang on to fistfuls of poetry like loose change in my pockets,
and I keep waiting for the day that the world turns upside down
so I can swim with the stars.
I’m not afraid of darkness, it’s a loneliness I can empathize with it.
It’s the blackholes like cigarette burns inside of me that get troublesome.
I walk through graveyards and read the dashes between years,
each a story I’ll never know. Sometimes I create my own.”

No wonder none of us know who we are anymore.

”

- Kelsey Danielle, “I Was Told to Write an About Me and This is What Happened” (via commovente)

"Despite it all, we turned Jesus’ message into a reward-or-punishment contest that would hopefully..."

Thu, 16 May 2013 06:27:41 -0400

“Despite it all, we turned Jesus’ message into a reward-or-punishment contest that would hopefully come later—instead of a transformational experience that was verifiable here and now by the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Probably more than anything else, this huge misplacement of attention anesthetized and weakened the actual transformative power of Christianity. It all got moved into “later” and frankly only for a few. For both Jesus and for the Buddha, rewards and punishments are first of all inherent to the action and in this world. Goodness is its own reward and evil is its own punishment, and then we must all leave the future to the mercy and love of God, instead of thinking we are the umpires and judges of who goes where, when, and how. What a cosmic waste of time and energy and attention.”

- Richard Rohr (via azspot)

This accurately sums up my approach to my faith-in-action, and my feelings on an afterlife-focused spirituality.

Oh, hi new followers!

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:21:39 -0400

Education Dare Day

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:25:08 -0400

adiemtocarpe:

girlcanteach:

When was the last time you cried in class?

When Charlotte died in “Charlotte’s Web”. We are rehearsing the play version right now, and EVERY TIME she dies the entire class looks at me to see if I’m going to shed a tear.

I usually do.

When this year’s students asked me what it was like during the lockdown in 2009 when a gunman shot to death 14 people across the street from the school. :(

EDD: If your students from this year had to describe you in a sentence, what would they say?

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:57:45 -0400

adiemtocarpe:

itssnix:

Mine would say “She’s crazy, but she really loves us and she loves Jesus.”

“She dances and sings when she thinks we aren’t looking, and she talks about dogs a lot.”

Most of my kids would say something like, “A headscarf-wearing Muslim woman who listens to house music and thinks Nacho Libre is one of the funniest movies ever — and she actually talks to us like we are human beings and will say things and explain things that most grown-ups ignore.”

But my ‘angelitos’ would probably say something like, “I fucking hate that dumb bitch, she makes me come on time and participate in activities and she expects me to bring my own pencil and my workbook and she won’t let me shout at my friends across the room or talk back to her, fucking dumb bitch!”

famous bisexual people

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:35:54 -0400

concentrationandromance:

just because it gives me warm feelings…

Read More

Awkwardly watching my friends’ divorce play out in Facebook status updates. I love them both...

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:32:38 -0400

Awkwardly watching my friends’ divorce play out in Facebook status updates.

I love them both so much. This sucks on so many levels.