{this beautiful life}

Susannah (Polka Dot) of, Life is Too Short Not To Wear Red Shoes, is having a photography contest. There are some truly beautiful photos already in the running in the {this beautiful life} photography contest...and I cannot wait to enter into this one myself!

Here are my 3 entries:

{a little friend walking on the beach}

{a vibrant purple lilly in the Biltmore garden pond}

{my cousin Mateo...isn't he just precious?}

What do all of you think? Which is your favorite photo of the 3?

This Neo-Victorian Loves: Hats

So I haven't done a 'This Neo-Victorian Loves..." post in a long while, and I thought that it was about high time. So I thought I'd share my latest (it seems) obsession with you all. Okay so it seems that I have a love affair going on with hats lately. Everywhere that I've visited or gone to lately I have tried on a hat while there! I really do love hats...and the pictures above are only a few of all of the hats that my crown has encountered. :)

What kind of hats do you like to wear in Winter? What are your thoughts on berets...and do you think they'd look cute on a wild curly maned young woman?

Much love to you and your crown,

             

The Weight of the World, Among Water Molecules

{I love this song by Chantal Kreviazuk. This song is just....so...like me sometimes. To watch the video without noisy interruption please press PAUSE on my mix-pod player...located on the right hand side of my blog.}

Hi there...

So I know that I was away from Blogger for quite some time (try almost 2 weeks), and it was most definitely not because I wanted to be away from writing and talking to all of you lovelies. I was away because, quite simply put, the weight of the world took it's toll on me, and water molecules decided to fall among a shadowed sky over my Home. That is the truth. There was no farse statement in that swift breath of text.

The weight of the world of which I speak of was indeed my WORKplace. The last two weeks at work have been spent pulling 10 hour shifts for half of the time (at the preschool/daycare) in the 3 y/o class and sometimes in the More at 4 Class. Half way through my day working with the older kiddos I would then go and eat my lunch, clean my room from the morning shift and then have to go work in the Nursery until I closed that evening. There are 5 babies and just me in a little room for hours on end...enough said really. I do love working with the little ones, but there are those moments when they break you down mentally and physically.

On top of being tired from working all day long I then arrived home for the last two weeks with no energy whatsoever left to do the things that I love...the things that make me me. For the last two weeks I've not had much of a chance to breathe, play piano, write, etc. I did however get the chance to spend the weekend before last visiting my bf and his family for the weekend. So for a while I was able to escape...went out on a date...toured J's college campus...went to the church college and youth party at a mutual friend's home and then I hit the road back to home...and back to the reality of the weight, that is my world as of late.

I am a person that tries her best to view the positive aspects of life in every waking moment, but being an idealist to the extreme, well that makes getting out of bed some days a hard task to do...occasionally. I had also been struggling with some BIG idealist-like questions in my life about work, love, family and other things... I really do hope that I figure out where to turn to soon...what direction to take...where to head indeed is the paramount question.

There is one Bible verse that has popped into my mind, and surprisingly off of the thin papery sheets of my Bible every time that I crack it open. 

"Come near to God and He will come near to you..." 

{James 4:8} 

Do you think God is trying to speak to me? Because I surely do. I think He is asking me to draw near to Him so that I might find the strength to outwit, outlast and outplay my days (a little Survivor humor there, sorry) that I am faced with every week. I think if I lay myself at His feet (His Word and the like) not only will I find strength to muster through the days ahead, but I think that I will also find the answers to the many questions that plague my mind every day, and the ones that especially tempt massively destructive fear to creep upon my mind at night when my head hits my pillow.

Just so you know...because I am going for positivity and lessons learned here: I had a great time with Jared, and after all I am writing right now, so I did make it through those 10 hour shifts.....ah I prevailed! Thank you Lord! I've made it through a few hard work weeks, a panic attack and a total meltdown this past Friday only to realize that I must cling to Him, commune with Him...and He alone will get me through and bring understanding of all things seen and unseen.

"What about the water molecules?" you may be wondering at this very moment (because I chose to keep you wondering up until this very moment...how nice of me huh?) Well, it stormed and rained for a few days over the last few weeks here, and when that happens we have no internet. So even when I did have a free moment to breathe and clear my head and get myself out onto 'notebook paper/e-paper' I was unable to.

Hoping that you all can glimpse something beautiful...within Him, yourself and your life. And do not let the weight of the world weigh you down...open your wings and fly...

~*~A Tag For Ashley~*~

I have to say that I LoVe doing tags....for what reason exactly? I don't really know! So, thanks to Ashley of Live for Today for tagging me for the second time in the last few days. 

Here are the eight questions that Ashley has asked for me to answer:

1) Which would you rather go without for a week this Winter? Heat or all of your Winter clothes?

HEAT most definitely. You can always add another layering of clothing on...and then there are an abundant amount of quilts to be had and snuggled up in in a quilter's Home.

2) What kind of cheese would you rather eat? Pepperjack, Blue or Goat?

Pepperjack. I love making grilled chicken, pepperjack cheese and green scallion filled quesadilla's. They are super good with homemade pico de gaillo (with all of the ingredients from our garden) too.

3) What superpower do you wish you had?

I wish I had the power to have an effect on other peoples moods. Kind of like the character of Kayla Silverfox in X-Men Origins: Wolverine...or like that of Jasper Hale from The Twilight Saga. I mean I am a pretty good judge of character, and I have a tendency to be able to read other people fairly well...now if only I could harness being able to shift someone's moods and make things all better betwixt everyone...now that would really be something I think!

4) Can you do an accent? Which one?

I can do a crazy amount of accents (and character voices actually). British, German, Australian, Bostonian and *Reindeer*...you name it really! Haha! {My boyfriend was completely shocked when I could carry on Gollum/Smeagol's dialouge just for fun in the actual voice. Jared laughed and then joined in with me on the fun dialogue...oh the memories!}

5) What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?

Okay, well, I will NOT tell you what the numero uno most embarrassing thing is that has ever happened to me, but I will tell you what one of the things is. I was at my boyfriend's brothers' basketball game and one of the players made a cool shot and so I said "CLASSY!" out loud. I thought I was saying this under my breath because it was so loud during th game, but apparently I more like screamed my exclamation of awesomeness out loud for all to hear, and I got a few weird looks shot in my direction too.

6) Would you rather bite your tongue or smash your finger?

I am a pianist so there is no way I would rather get my finger smashed. I'd rather bite my tongue truth be told. I'd be okay with biting my tongue because then maybe I wouldn't say something I would regret later on, or even better yet maybe my tongue would hurt and then I wouldn't oversnack myself during the day!

7) Would you rather cell phones didn't exist...or computers?

Can't you like almost do everything on you phone that you do on your computer these days? Anyway... I can't really choose because I started getting to know Jared better through e-mails that were sent over a span of months, so I am kinda partial to having a computer. And I love being able to hear J's voice on the other end of my cell phone weekly while we are apart from one another...living our lives. I guess I use both the computer and cell phone quite frequently...but I am more a writer type so I would have to ultimately say CELL PHONES. Plus I hate it when cell phones and text messages get in between families and relationships and take away from our time with them that we could be spending together and not on the phone.

8) Which do you hate more? Mosquitoes or spiders?

MOSQUITOES! I am what you would call "sweet meat," and I get eaten alive by mosquitoes all Summer long...they envelop my flesh whilst nuzzling me with their noses...pretty much. Spiders only bite you one time for most part, and that's if they do at all, plus they eat lots of other nasty little creatures too. 

Whew! I made it through the sea of Ashley's randomness...and prevailed! Now, I am not going to list 8 people and 8 questions again (okay, well really I tagged 9 people and had 9 posed questions) so anyone who would like to do this tag, or answer my questions from the previous tag post is free to do so. Let me know if you do! ;)

I'd love to hear what you thought about my random answers to the random questions that were posed to me. How would you have answered these questions? Would you have answered the same as me on any of these...or would you have answered completely opposite?

More posts are soon to come this week...

A Tag & Hello

I have been tagged by the lovely Marie of Marie Loves. It's a good thing that I've been tagged too, because I am at a loss for what to blog about at the moment (the next installment of masculinity and femininity should be in the works within the next month or so....patience is in need...please)...a writer with no words...sadly that is what I have become. I guess I've been just a bit (okay, a lot) preoccupied with work and the many stresses that have been pounding on me lately, so much so in fact that I've been amiss from the blogging world for over a week now!


Anyway, I digress.


Back to the tag... I am supposed to answer 8 questions that Marie has posed for me to answer, and then in turn I am to come up with 8 questions to ask 8 fellow bloggers whom I choose to tag. Goody! Well, I am gonna shake things up a little bit and tag 9 people...and ask 9 questions....and maybe there's another surprise at the end of the post! This is gonna be easy peezy lemon squeezy! Let's get to the answering of the questions that have been posed to me then shall we? :)

{image via: blogs.palmbeachpost.com}

1) What is your favorite Winter accessory?

My Pesaro boots...{and my pink Aeropostale scarf from the Fisher's.}

{image via: sweatybettypr.com}

2) How do you like to spend your Winter weekends?

Hiking...sipping hot apple cider while watching British period pieces with momma...and ice skating. (Just to clarify I've not been able to hit the ice in many years, but I do miss it so very much...it was most definitely a favorite thing to do of mine during the Winter with my friends. I hope to find a rink soon and lace up some skates!)

{image via: lamplighterpublishing.com}

3) List your top 3 favorite things about the Winter season.

1- Laying by the fire wrapped up in my quilt, with a book in hand (like The Giant Killer by: A.L.O.E). 2- Playing outside in the snow....walking through the woods to get to the creek behind my Home. 3- Bundling up in my scarf, hat and my Merrel Vibram boots...that prepare me to go on a long hike with my love.

{image via: gpsmagazine.com}

4) What is something new that you'd like to try this year?

Well, I may not get around to doing this this year more likely than not, but I would LOVE to go Geo-Caching with my Tante Christa and Uncle Tom.

{image via: cosmos.com}

5) If you could spend your Christmas abroad, where would you go?

Scotland.....on the moor in a little cabin near a loch...books, quilts, wassail, my family and my love...oh, and a freshly lit flame in the hearth which illuminates every shadow on the bare walls and warms the scent of pine throughout the house which is encompassed by love. I know....a dreamer am I!

{image via: ME}

6) Your favorite historic monument and why?

The only thing I could think of that I love (not sure if it is technically a monument or not though...) and that is my favorite monument is the Biltmore Estate. I love the history of the large chateauesque home, as well as learning about the lives of the family that lived there. There are so many beautiful artifacts within it's walls, lovely gardens outside and in (the Winter Garden would be my favorite hangout alongside the thousands of books in the home, for sure), and the library is simply put...magnificent! One of my favorite sculptures on the property is the stone statue of Saint Joan (I am in love with all things Saint Joan...just so ya'll know!) It is the largest privately owned Home in the United States too. If you'd like to know more, or see more (in picture form) about the Biltmore Estate check out this post HERE. 

{image via: mensantoro.it}

7) What museum would you most love to visit?

The Musei Vaticani in Viale Vaticano, Rome. It's in Roma...need I say more...really?

{image via: vuesociety.com}

8) If you won a shopping spree tomorrow, which store would you want to spend it at?

It is a tie between Anthropologie and F.Y.E. (For. Your. Entertainment.) I would want to spend half of whatever I won at Anthropologie on their super cute 'n' fashionable rustic leather boots and their flowy autumnal dresses and sweaters....then at F.Y.E. I would buy every single Eisley cd along with every sci-fi movie and every british period piece dvd to be had (F.Y.E. has an excellent selection of tv on dvd, as well as the very obscure and rarely found films from the past...in other words my paradise!)

I hereby tag the following 9 bloggers:

Jared of This Red Thread

Alaythea of Rock 'n' Roll Hideaway

Andi of What is Life?
Caroline of Standing In The Sunlight

Anneliese of Anneliese Loves Life
Laurel of His Handmaiden

Chris of My Ink Spot

Melody of Vividry
Annie of Daughter of His Grace

Here are 9 questions for you tagged 9 to answer:

1) What is your favorite book, and why?

2) If you could pen the name of your own memoir what would it be titled?

3) What is your favorite song, and what is it's meaning to you?

4) What is your ideal blogging/writing atmosphere?

5) What is your favorite movie genre, and why?

6) What is your favorite tv show, and why?

7) If you could have the skill of playing any musical instrument which one would you want to play (if you already play an instrument what different one would you want to play?)

8) Who is your favorite author, and why?
9) Why do you write your blog?

Until next time dearest readers...

              

P.S. Thanks for the tag, Marie! Also, I thought about this after I wrote this post, and I've decided that if you are a FOLLOWER of DOTK then you are also hereby TAGGED! I hate not being able to spread the 'love' to everyone and only let 8 bloggers be tagged all by themselves. So what are you waiting for...you've been tagged! Make sure to let me know on this post if you did the tag too. I'd love to read your tag post! ;)

Bliss Photography Challenge {Pets} ~ My Photo

Maggie is having a photography contest over at her blog Bliss...and the subject is.....PETS! So please do check out Bliss, and link up a lovely photo of your pampered pooch, catatonic cat, or any other furry, scaly, feathery or slimy pet that you adore and love so we can all see too!

{Pictured Above:} 

This is my adorable 9 year old Bichon Frise. She loves to spend her time blitzing (which in the event that you don't own a Bichon and have no clue what blitzing is...it is when she does a mad dash full speed around in circles whether she be in the yard or on our hardwood floors.) Summer's Princess Abigail, or as she is more affectionately and commonly called, Abby, loves to spend her mornings with momma on the front porch.

A few random things about my dog Abby:

She wears sweaters and jackets during the Fall and Winter months.

She absolutely loves peanut butter, bacon, black-eyed peas, veggie chips, apples and pop rocks (of all things!)

She loves to lay on piled up quilts, watch movies with us girls, and gaze out the window at our local critters in the yard.

She loves to play in the snow...especially when it gets stuck to her bearded muzzle. 

She is a sucker for a belly rub, and will beg you to do so by the recliner by whining and barking until you relent and rub her belly!

By the way....Bichon Frise means curly lap dog in French! Au Revoir!

The Beginning: Masculinity & Femininity

{photo by: DOTK}
"Where we began to go astray...the beginning."

I am going to try and make this as clear as possible for you all.....we are the beasts who have destroyed what was once masculinity and femininity...we did it before our Creator's very eyes...this was a big part of the Fall. Not only did we come into contact with our sin nature (told of in Genesis), but we also came into contact with a reversal of roles as far as masculinity and femininity go. 

Ahead, during this post I will break things down a bit for us all as best I can...and try to shed some light on how Adam and Eve stepped away from their God-given roles as male and female...who were created in His image...but fell away from Him and His marvelous plan and design. I will be focusing more on femininity rather than masculinity for obvious reasons....I am no man! (*tell me where that was quoted from!!!*) 

I will be using the book 'Captivating' by: John & Stasi Eldredge as a reference to write this post, as well as my NIV Bible. Any text that is pink is quoted material from 'Captivating.'

The Fall of The Original Sister:

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." {Genesis 3:6}

"The woman was convinced. That's it? Just like that? In a matter of moments? Convinced of what? Look in your own heart---you'll see. Convinced that God was holding out on her. Convinced that in order to have the best possible life, she must take matters into her own hands. And so she did. She is the first to fall. In disobeying God she also violated her very essence. Eve is supposed to be Adam's ezer kenegdo, like one who comes to save. She is to bring him life, invite him to life. Instead, she invited him to his death." {pg. 49}

Convicting huh? Our role as woman was to bring Adam life, to be his help-meet...urging him on to leading and prospering, but instead we brought him and ourselves death. I know that I have been guilty of some of these 'death-like' things. I am a very impatient person, and as a result I struggle to let Jared...and even my father lead at times. 

Now, Jared isn't my husband like Adam was to Eve, but I have chosen to bind myself to him in a way...in my love for him...so I should in essence be J's ezer kenegdo. I should be striving to help the men in my life by having the utmost faith in them and love for them so that they may be able to reach and attain their leadership and masculinity as God intended.

Our femininity started dying the moment we started showing a lack of trust, doubt and fear...in Adam and in God. We should have taken God's final word about the fruit to heart, obeyed Him at all cost, and let man lead us as he was meant to have done. Of course we had to go against the grain and take charge...look where this has gotten us!

Ladies, have you seen women nowadays? We forfeit our confidence in our Lord because we let doubts of not being wise in the ways of the world lead our emotional-heart-compass instead of letting Him lead us and having the utmost faith in His plan for us. We are aggressive...in and over our relationships with men. We can be controlling (at least I know I can be) when we should be taking a step back, and letting the men in our lives lead. We ourselves as women struggle with wanting to control our own lives at times too....do you ever struggle with letting God drive your life, and not letting your worries drive you? I thought as much. We all struggle with wanting to know what's ahead, and not being able to just be lead in life.

So I bet right about now you are thinking back to that scripture up above, and the thought of 'Hey, Adam ate the forbidden fruit too!' just pinged into your brain, huh? Great thought...because Adam played a role in the Fall too, not just Eve. So where exactly was Adam when his lovely wife Eve was being tempted by the cunning serpent?

The Original Brother, Standing Still:

He was standing right beside her, that's where! "She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it {Genesis 3:6}. The Hebrew for 'with her' means right there, elbow to elbow. Adam isn't away in another part of the forest; he has no alibi. He is standing right there, watching the whole thing unravel. What does he do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He says not a word, doesn't lift a finger. He won't risk it, he won't fight, and he won't rescue Eve. Our first father---the first real man---gave in to paralysis. He denied his very nature and went passive. And every man after him, every son of Adam, carries in his heart now the same failure. Every man repeats the sin of Adam, every day." {pg. 49}

Why is it that men (at times) seem to disappear when we need them---they become silent and passive when we need them to lead us as God intended for them to do. Young men may think that they don't have to fight for us young ladies because we are too aggressive...and because they would just rather not take the leadership reigns in their own life to start providing for themselves, and in turn their future wives and families.

The Accursed Couple:

Men, because of standing by passively in the garden next to woman you are cursed with futility (hardship in the work world...ya know, thistles and thorns and such...) and failure. Failure is one of man's biggest fears....that and being shown no respect from others, including us lovely ladies.

Women, because we lead our other half into sin we are accursed with pain in child-birth, loneliness (aka relational heartbreak) and with the urge to be controlling and domineering...especially over the men in our lives. Feminist movement *ahem.*

Now how do we as young men and women of the Lord begin to step away from our sin natures and begin to step into the glorious light of living in a life that is purposed...one that is biblically masculine and feminine as our good Lord intended? Well, I will talk about this in another post soon...the redemption post(s). Now that we've covered a little bit about how the roles should be (Found here) and how we've ruined them at the very beginning of time (in this post you are now reading) we can now move onto how God has called us to live a life of biblical masculinity and femininity in a future post. 

Looking forward to exploring the art of becoming masculine & feminine with you,

Standing in the Sunlight ~ Giveaway

My friend Caroline is having her '2 years of blogging' giveaway over at her blog Standing in the Sunlight. Please be sure to check this lovely giveaway out. I know I am quite excited, because Caroline is giving away an Amy Butler swing bag pattern as well as fabric....ah, alas two of my favorite things in one great giveaway!

Please do head on over to Standing in the Sunlight. It is truly a lovely little blog written by a very lovely young woman with a heart for the Lord and hands that are used to His glory in everything she does, whether it be blogging or sewing.

What are you waiting for? This is time sensitive...you've only until this evening to enter!

        

An Intro: Masculinity & Femininity

{"Buffy" Photo taken by: Me}

Masculinity and Femininity is within us -an interwoven set of characteristics placed within each one of us by our Creator- from the time we are born we are like Adam, we are like Eve. From the time we are born into being -and into our sin natures- we strive to find out who we are....the gender and characteristics which are all our very unique own.


Just go and visit a playground and watch a few little ones...you can see their minds at work...they are figuring out who they are as little men and little women. I just got off of my first shift at the Preschool where I work; and I knew I just had to start blogging about Masculinity and Femininity after what I glimpsed today. I have been wanting to start writing a series of blog posts on biblical masculinity and femininity for a while...and I found inspiration on the playground this morning with my little ones at work...and hey, where better to start a topic off than at the very beginning of it all!?


It is at work this morning where I observed the little ones, taught them, and was filled with joy by watching the little ones figure out their very own little gender identities right before my very eyes. One thing you can see about little girls is that they are relational, they want to know if the look pretty, they love to chat it up, and they want you to play with their hair..oh and did I mention they giggle about all of the little boys on the playground who are trying to be tough?


One of the little girls...we'll call her *Lori*...on the playground had me laughing so hard today that I had to cover my mouth....my stomach was aching. Lori turned around and looked at one of her other little girl friends (they had been talking and laughing with one another) placed her hand on her hip and said "Seriously sister!?" Lori had me rolling....and this just goes to show that girls need relationships...we are so very relational...and they want to talk talk talk about it too!


Among the laughter of the little girls there were also tears when one of the little girls would get irritated and say to one of the other little girls "You're not my friend!" The little girls would come up to me quite upset looking for an "It's okay sweetie...go play anyway and maybe they'll want to play what you're playing", or just pout.....girls are emotional that is for sure. 


Little boys on the other hand, well they want to be the rough and tumble sort, they want to know if they are doing things right in their own 'manly' ways (teacher watch me run around the playground....I'm the fastest runner right?) and they typically come to the aid of any female who needs it whether it be me (their teacher), or one of the little girls in their class.


One of the little boys today...we'll call him *Danny*...heard one of the little girls yelling about a spider. Danny saw the spider, pushed the little girl aside and smashed it with his shoe...and you could see the pride of a job well done shining brightly on his face. He knew, and was pleased that he had "saved" the little girl from the "evil spider." Men want to be the protecters...the leaders...the ones who make the girls feel safe and take care of things all the while.


I know from seeing the little ones today exactly what the very first beginning glimpses of masculinity and femininity really are. Little boys are born to be protecters, leaders, strong, and are vying for respect from every one at all costs...and they run wild! Little girls need other little girls, they need constant affirmation that they are indeed loved and beautiful and they love being protected by little men (and older men when we girls get older.) 


There is so much more to biblical masculinity and femininity, really what I've said in this post isn't even the tip of the iceberg! These are just merely the basics...all about who God created us to be...young and old...male and female alike. I am really excited about discussing where exactly masculinity and femininity has gone in our day and age.....which has really gone astray and is quite askewed in my opinion. 


Maybe you aren't even sure of your identity as a male or female....maybe you are lost and wondering what it is that God particularly designed you for...what your role is as a man or woman...well I am ready to explore it with you all!


There is a role for man destined by God. There is a special helping role for woman that has been destined by God as well. Adam and Eve set the pace for the race....and I'll get to talking about them, all of Creation and what the Bible has to specifically say about our gender indentities in another post at a later date.


Ready to explore my role and gender that's been set forth by my King,

Absence of Autumn

Well, Autumn is not absent here where I dwell (in the mountains of Vita *wink*), but I have been absent from blogger during the autumn season thus far. Dear readers: There is a lovely autumnal crisp in the air, and the brightened leaves are beginning to release their tight grasp from their Summer steady holds from their deeply rooted anchors of earth. I can hear a rustling in the acreage that is my homesteads resting place, filled with woods and a small creek, and miles away there are steer moo-ing in the pastures, singing me a song...as I sit still in the stark silence and sip spiced apple cider.

"Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive Autumns." -George Eliot

Yes, it is most definitely delicious autumn my dears! It is once again time to pack up all of the Summer clothes in our closets and behold the thoughts of layering vast arrayed colored fabrics over ourselves...long skirts and shirts...quilts to snuggle up in whilst watching Cranford & Anne of Green Gables again....finishing up last years knitting project, and a great read or two by the warm hearth...my soul is indeed wedded to autumn!
 

Why have I been absent so far this autumn, you may wonder...? I traveled with my lovely family to the beach for a long weekend, to celebrate my younger sister's sixteenth birthday. We had a wonderful time together, even though at time my heart and mind felt torn...thinking about the man I love and missed dearly...and of my work, of all things that I was missing, whilst away on our family holiday. It is a strange feeling, being pulled in all sorts of directions...struggling to not be a young girl any longer, but clinging to it for dear life all the while. I am beginning to feel a disconnect....a natural one that has been ordered...nonetheless...but I feel a slight dull ache in my chest.

Well, my lovelies, I am back at long last and I have much to say now that I have been away for a while... Also thank you so much to my new followers...it was quite a lovely surprise to return from vacation and from my 'blogging break' this past week only to find that I had been blessed in having a few new followers!

Until I type again,

P.S. Any thoughts on the new background/header/layout? I really love it...it is sooo meee...and I found it on Robin Blogs for FREE! =)