June 21, 2010

June ICLW: Elementally Speaking

Howdy! Thanks for stopping by for June's ICLW. (Learn more about the ICLW here and see how you can sign up for next month.) I've got a few previous ICLW intro posts to get you up to speed: ABC's of Me (November 2009), April 2010, and May 2010. For this month's intro, I think I'll try something a little different: looking at my life right now through the Four Elements. Intrigued?

The Four Elements of Me

Earth: What Grounds Me ~ Roots and Foundation
+ My husband, Larry: totally my rock, my love, my soulmate. We've been married for 2 and a half years. We were high school sweethearts from 1997... do the math. We've been together a long time and are still madly in love with one another.
+ My family: My mom, my papa, my sister Jasmine and her husband Neal - these are my core. Then Larry's mom, dad, and sister - just as much family as my own blood. And soon, probably sometime this week: Willow! My niece-to-be, the first grandchild, the little darling we've been waiting 9 months to meet. You can count on a post about her later this week since my sister will be induced on Friday :)
+ My faith: I'm Jewish. But I put an equal amount of faith in the goodness of humanity, the beauty that surrounds us daily we often take for granted, and in the sovereignty and power of the collective creativity of women. I ground myself by redefining the world around me, and walking forward with faithful steps in the world I've created.

Water: What Moves Me ~ Transition and Flow
+ My health: it's been in a varying state of flux. I have premature ovarian failure, diagnosed in April of 2009. I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. I recently learned I've got degenerative arthritis in my lower spine. Oh yeah, I'm 28. Thankfully though, my thyroid appears to finally be stabilized after a year of ups and down, my my POF is being treated with HRT.
+ My job: Recently promoted.
+ My home: We are house-hunting, and hope to have a formal offer in to the seller by COB today.

Air: What Lifts Me ~ Joy and Celebration
+ Food, music, the arts, photography, flowers, Hell's Kitchen, Weeds, LOST, Radiohead, indie music, Vampire Weekend, MUSE, art house cinema, Bach Cello Suites, cooking, our trip Japan last year, camping, fishing, reading, writing, writing my book, RadioLab, The Moth, This American Life, taking the time to literally stop and smell the roses.

Fire: What Consumes Me ~ Passion and Perseverance
+ Having a family: The timeline has been pushed back significantly since we're buying a house, but we plan on adopting an infant domestically. We're skipping fertility treatments altogether.
+ My advocacy: I've recently decided that I am an health advocate, fighting for infertility treatment coverage and research. It all started with this video. The content of my blog has shifted slightly from mostly about me to more about the greater ALI blogosphere and what we can all do to be everyday advocates. I am also RESOLVE of New England's newest Board member on their Board of Directors!
+ My writing: I do it all the time. I've been keeping a journal in print or electronic form since I was in 7th grade. This blog is a continuation of that, but I'm starting to branch out to other places like Examiner.com and hopefully more paying opportunities. I'm also writing a book about my experience of converting to Judaism three years ago.

Looking forward to meeting new folks. Happy ICLW and happy commenting!

Image used with generous permission by the artist, Alida Saxon, copyright 2010.

20 comments:

Alex said...

What a great post - so positive! As always!

Kir said...

that was awesome!!! learning so much about you!!!
You ARE amazing.

L.A. Mommy said...

Great post!! Really innovative and fresh way to let people know about you. (I may steal your idea for my post!)

Thanks for sharing!
MAK via ICLW

Britt said...

Your posts are always so great! Thanks so much for sharing! Happy ICLW!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I love this intro! I may have to borrow it for myself. Happy ICLW!

Jem said...

What a creative ICLW post and a great way to get to know you. I love your shift to advocacy. I wish I had the courage to be so vocal. I'm happy to tell my dental hygenist all about IVF, but haven't told some of my IRL friends.

Happy ICLW
~Jem (#56)

Heather said...

I love your elements of you! Great list. Thanks so much for sharing.

Take care.

Unknown said...

excellent post.
thought-provoking.
simply lovely.
thank you for sharing yourself.

JL said...

You are so creative - I love coming by your blog to see what I'm going to learn or how you're going to wow me with your latest post!

Happy ICLW!

JL

Mrs. Gamgee said...

Fabulous intro! Happy ICLW!

Mugsy said...

I've been reading you for awhile now (thanks to your viral video) and I think you are such an awesome and inspiring writer. Thank you for doing what you do!

Jackie said...

Fantastic idea for an intro! I've read only a little bit, but you seem very calm and accepting of your health and your IF. It's refreshing. I'm also looking forward to reading more about your advocacy.
Good luck on your house offer! I hope they accept it without too much hassle. :)
Oh, and thank you for your comment as well. I truly appreciated your kind words, and am honored that you enjoyed reading it. :)

~stinkb0mb~ said...

Great post.

Here for ICLW
Rach @
#26 The Gal Who Wants to be Anywhere But Where She Is
#27 Miss Ruby

Patience said...

What a great post! I might have to borrow your idea for next month. Thank you for sharing your blog with us all. You are truly an inspirational person. Thank you for sharing your blog with us!

ICLW

Suzy said...

This is such a beautiful post. Such a different, lovely way to do an ICLW introduction. I just love it.

Musewander said...

Such a cool twist on the ABC's of Me... very interesting!

Would love to know what you converted to Judaism from... Definitely sounds like it would be an interesting read!

Happy ICLW!

Rebecca said...

Awesome intro post! I might have to steal it for a future post, if you don't mind (I will definitely link back to you for credit!)
Happy ICLW!!!

Three Cats and a Baby said...

Wow, amazing introduction. Loved it. I enjoyed learning more about you.

Thank you so much for all your kindness and support.

Your word verification word is foolma. Just thought I would share. hehe.

Anonymous said...

This was a great introduction! Nice meeting you! And I hope everything is going well with the new house!

Michelle@Gotchababy said...

So nice to meet you--thanks for stopping by my blog earlier today.

I LOVE the name of your blog, btw! Looking forward to reading more!