What I am reading this week.....

A regular reader emailed me, and reminded me that I have not been doing as many of the "What I am reading" or "My New Favorite Blogs" posts.  Some of that is because of the new projects that have started, some is because I have been spending a bunch of time trying to figure out the ins and outs of Facebook and how that world has changed.  Some is just because some days I am very tired and in a lot of pain.

For those of you who have known me before I started this blog, you know that I "dabbled" in Facebook when Maddy was little.  Especially when she was up a lot at night crying and fussy, she and I would play "games" that involved fishes and other animals.  There was a lot of family drama going on at that point, and my opinion at the time, which I still share, is that Facebook, and not being able to talk face to face, with the guidance of the Holy Ghost to help us understand each other.  While I liked connecting with current friends, it really just became a time suck with a lot of bad taste left from the judging of others.  When I talked to my new bishop about how to try and repair relationships, or if I should even try, with my siblings and extended family, his advice was to let the relationships, and FaceBook, alone. 

I followed that advice, and haven't felt a great loss from that.  There are some extended family members I stopped hearing from, but since the account still existed, they could have emailed me through it and the message would have reached me.  Only one cousin ever did, and she is just as happy to text and call.  Leaving the daily drama on Facebook also gave me more time to write, to read, and to find new friends.  It didn't mean that all those friends were IRL (In Real Life) because many of them were friends I first met through reading or commenting on a blog.  Many of them I now exchange letters, cards and small gifts with, and I consider them "real" friends.  While some of them I have never met in person,, our calls on Skype, letters and packages make up much more communication that I have with the vast majority of my siblings, and I grew up having daily contact with them.  A friend recently told me that I "collect friends, polish them up, and turn them in to sisters."  I hope that she is right, that I will be able to be a sister to many people, no matter what our biology.

So, what have I been reading?  Well, it is eclectic, and so I thought I would simply throw a bunch of things out there.  I doubt anyone but me will like them all, but isn't that why you read and click anyway?

Manuary has started on Feminist Mormon Housewives.  If you thought feminist Mormons were a myth, then male feminist Mormons might make for an interesting sighting, to share with your friends.

A little bit of self promotion! If you didn't see the great write up (okay I got to write it, but still) on Feminist Mormon Housewives on the Heavenly Mother Project, you should check that out along with Manuary and a couple posts you may have missed from last month.  It was the FIRST post of 2013, so you might have missed the post if you had a late night and slept in.  I am trying to keep up with getting links to new posts up, and am looking for someone who might want to assist me with keeping up.  If you are interested, please email me and let me know.

Rachel is welcoming the New Year with a look forward and back, and a dash of hope that make me glad to see. I don't think she got one of the emergency kits my mom made, but they are lightweight enough she could throw them in her next package to her mother-in-law!

Leah had a huge day on New Year's Eve, and is heading into 2013 with the resolve to not only come out to her bishop (the last one to be told now that her wife and daughters know) but to start transitioning in public. I have been sorting out clothes from my closet to send her, and if anyone else wants to add items in the box, I am hoping to mail it next week.

I have been anxiously watching for blog posts from some friends who are far away. In Russia, Christmas is just starting, and there is only the first installment of the story of needing care in a Russian hospital.  Knowing that Shari is okay enough to be writing posts does not change how much I have been praying for her, and wanting to know the rest of the tale.

I have enjoyed a whole month of extra Advent Stories at Keepa, and I have to admit that on some of my most painful days, I had to read them more than once to make sure I got the whole story.  Here are just a few, of my favorite ones, but that is not to say that there were not many more than this, that really do deserve a mention.  (Sheesh, did you think I could get that many links in? Me neither.)

I have been very blessed, even as we have had so many changes in 2012.  From surgery and the continuing diagnostic process, to our new apartment which has all of the things we were looking for, and was less expensive than we hoped, we have been richly blessed.  I have no doubt that 2013 is already headed towards being an even more interesting year. 

I know there will be struggle and pain, but also immeasurable joy! 

And, of course, I will keep writing, reading, and sharing my favorites with you.