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Friday, July 26, 2013

Six Things I Learned in July

In July, I learned...

1. What the "Silicon Valley" and the "Bay Area" are. Having lived in California for almost nine years, I've heard these terms a lot and thought I knew what they meant. It wasn't until I was up north for a college friend's wedding that it really clicked. "Oh my gosh. There's the San Francisco Bay, and the 'area' around it is the 'Bay Area!'" And "Oh my gosh. Look at all the tech companies and delicious sounding South Asian and East Asian restaurants! It's the Silicon Valley!" I get excited about these things. :)

2. That roadtripping with a baby is possible. Google maps told us that our trip to the Bay Area (I know what that means!) would take 5 hours and 50 minutes. Total time on the way there? 6.5 hours. Total time on the way back? 7.5 hours.

3. That the pregnant body used to be seen as unattractive, and women tried to conceal their baby bumps! This changed when Demi Moore posed very pregnant and very nude for Vanity Fair in the early '90s. Now, many women flaunt their bump by wearing clingy clothing, posting baby bump pictures to Facebook, and posing for maternity photo shoots. Two of my most popular blog posts are growing baby bump posts. Now, one photographer is trying to expand our culture's view of maternal beauty to include the post-pregnancy body, stretch marks, saggy skin, and all - a daunting challenge, I would say.

4. Why the word for one who follows Islam is "Muslim." Follow along...

  1. In Semitic languages (such as Arabic, Aramaic, and Hebrew), the root of a word is composed of consonants that carry a meaning. For example, s_l_m means "be at peace."
  2. Fill the empty slots with vowels to give the root word further meaning. For example, _a_i_a forms the third person "he" past tense.
  3. So fill in the blanks in s_l_m with _a_i_a and you get the word "salima" which means "he was at peace."
  4. Take it further. The word "Islam" also uses the root s_l_m, but modifies the root word with "i_ _a" which is the action of causing to be at peace. Similarly, "Muslim" means one who causes being at peace. "Salam" is the action of be at peace. All from the root word "s_l_m" which means "be at peace."
I love languages.

5. That not much happens on Facebook. I've been limiting myself to only going on Facebook twice per week, and I find that when I log on, there isn't all that much to see. Which begs the question, "Why do I feel compelled to check it all the time?"

6. That there may not be a limit to love. Every month, I think that I have reached the pinnacle of my feelings of affection towards my five month old, and I think, "Ah, this is the love of a mom for her child." Then, a few weeks pass and I find that my heart has expanded beyond what I thought was the limit.

Here she is...


9 comments:

  1. Oh - I love how you expressed limitless love in #6!

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  2. Great list! Your baby is adorable. :)
    Stopping by from Emily's.

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  3. Your baby is adorable. Great shot of her.

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  4. Your thoughts on facebook are spot on. Yet, I find myself wanting to check it all the time too! Good food for thought there...

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    1. Yes, it's so nice to NOT be going on all the time for a change. Very refreshing!

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  5. Thanks for #4. I live in a Muslim country and never knew why Islam/Muslim. I agree about Facebook and not checking it as often. I don't really miss as much as I think I would. I am finding I am even only checking email once in the morning and once in the evening for the same reason. Thanks for sharing. Stopping over from Emily's.

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