I want to ride my bicycle

On Friday, Andrew and I went to The Gateway to walk around and enjoy the beautiful weather. We snapped this picture because I was afraid the warmth was too good to be true. Notice that Andrew is wearing a T-shirt, and I have my thin motorcycle jacket on.

The weather was incredible, and I wasn't shivering at all as we walked around different stores and even went to a movie at the Clark Planetarium. I highly recommend The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest if you're looking for an awesome documentary. I have been OBSESSED with looking up stuff about George Mallory, who disappeared with his partner, Irvine, on Everest in 1924, and speculating about whether he and Irvine reached the summit.

Then today, we woke up to THIS. I was so upset! Andrew found this darling vintage-inspired cruiser bicycle at a pawn shop on his way to work, and yesterday we went up there and I got to ride it around the block. It was perfect. It's brown, has thick tires, a comfortable, wide leather seat and even a cup holder (which I stuck a glass Coke bottle in to be funny) and a BASKET. So, even though my birthday is still 3 weeks away, Andrew bought me the bike of my dreams. What a guy!

And NOW, with 4 inches of snow and more falling as I write this, I can't even ride my bike around the complex or go for a ride with Andrew around Murray Park. Darn you unpredictable spring weather.

Oh, well. Pictures of me on the bike (taking pictures of it inside the apartment will make me too sad) will soon follow. And it is still a beautiful Sunday and a warm and fuzzy time with Andrew as we eat his chocolate chip-banana pancakes and listen to conference together. :)

Miss Representation?

At work lately, the Sundance film festival has been THE topic of conversation, particularly a documentary called Miss Representation, about the portrayal of women in the media and how they are underrepresented in positions of power because of it. You can read more about it here, although I can't recommend the trailer; it's pretty graphic and actually turned me off of the documentary.

All this talk has gotten me thinking about one of my favorite topics, feminism. You may have heard me mention it on here before, but I am absolutely sick of modern feminism. Don't misunderstand me; I agree that men and women should have equal rights in the workplace, and I agree that women were mistreated for hundreds of years and are still mistreated and abused today in many parts of the world.

What I am sick of, however, is feminist literature and movies that are supposedly "empowering" to women that really use every opportunity they can to belittle men. I was disgusted by Barbara's Kingsolver's treatment of the father in The Poisonwood Bible, and even one of my favorite sitcoms ever, Home Improvement, features the stereotypical "dumb husband" who messes everything up each episode (although he was able to redeem himself before the credits rolled).

I'm also sick of women who look down on other women for not being career-oriented. My mom only attended one year of college before getting married and starting a family a few years later, and she is one of the most giving, wonderful women I know. She wasn't meant to be a lawyer or a congresswoman; she was meant to be my mother.

Even when I read the Scroll occasionally, I see editorials and columns that belittle the women who attend BYU-Idaho for only a short time before marrying and having children. One particularly saddening editorial suggested that graduating from BYU-Idaho without getting married was the real accomplishment. That idea has stuck with me ever since I read it, probably since I graduated from BYU-Idaho without a husband and have never really thought of that as an accomplishment.

I guess what this long post is getting at is being happy with yourself and recognizing the positive things you've done in your life. If you never finished college because you were raising a family, you shouldn't let people bring you down! You're not going to retrieve your ACT or GRE score when you're standing at the pearly gates. If you haven't found the man of your dreams yet but all your friends have been married for years and have three kids, don't get down on yourself! You are a woman. You are a daughter of God.

Don't get down on the boys, either. Tell your husband you love him. Compliment a good guy friend unexpectedly. Bringing down the incredible men we have in this world doesn't strengthen women; it only makes it harder for everyone to be treated fairly.

Those are my two cents on feminism. Be happy! Hug your man! Don't be a catty woman of the world! :)