My Travel Bucket List - Domestic

Let's liven things back up a bit, from the serious post on Friday. A couple weeks ago I shared my list of fifteen awe inspiring international cities and countries I want to see before I kick the proverbial bucket. So, today, I want to share with you all the places right here in the United States that I want to visit as well.

1. Disney World

I am almost 30 years old and have never been to Disney World. People are always shocked by this because I'm such a huge fan.

2. Wizarding World of Harry Potter

DUH.

3. Nashville

I love country music, much to the disdain of my rock-loving husband. Also, the lovely Emily from Ember Grey. lives there, and I can't pass up an opportunity to hang out with her and Christian.

4. Hershey, Pennsylvania

This one might be kind of obvious.

5. The Statue of Liberty

Patriotic and historical.

6. Las Vegas

I don't even want to gamble. There are far too many amazing shows to see!

7. San Fransisco

Technology Mecca.

8. The Grand Canyon

I know it's just a big hole in the ground, but it would still be pretty cool to see what nature has made for us.

9. Mile High Stadium in Denver

This one is really for Hubs. Go Broncos!

10. Chicago

I have heard some lovely things about Chicago, plus they are rumored to have the best pizza. We all know I can't turn down pizza.

11. Hawaii

My parents have been twice. My brother had been once. Multiple friends have gone. Now it's my turn darn it!

12. San Diego Zoo

It's supposed to be the best there is, and I want to find out for myself.

13. Boston

I'm a sucker for seeing and learning about the history of a place, and a lot went down in Boston.

14. Yellowstone National Park

Three words (and it's kind of an inside family joke, sorry) Big. Horned. Sheep.

15. Smithsonian Museums in Washington D.C. 

Again. History and stuff.


Am I missing any places? What's on your travel bucket list?

That Time I Talked About the Continuing Devaluation of Women in Our Society

Editors Note: Now that my classes this session are over (thank you sweet baby Jesus!), I feel more comfortable sharing with you some of the essays, or parts of them, that were assigned. I'm probably going to spread them out over the next couple weeks/months, because they are about some controversial topics. So, consider yourself warned!

Women have made great advances in society, especially since the mid twentieth century. We won the right to vote, we fought for our right to receive an education, then to enter the workforce without discrimination, and eventually started earning more comparable wages as compared to men. Many opportunities have opened up that allow women to be able to be political leaders, CEOs of major corporations, or even own their own business. However, women and the roles they play in society are still continually devalued by more than one social institution. 

When picturing the proverbial American Dream, one normally pictures a husband who works in business, a housewife who always has a clean home and a pie in the oven, and two kids (ideally one boy and one girl) who are straight A students. This family lives in a cookie cutter house in a polished suburban neighborhood, and perhaps there is a golden retriever in their evergreen yard that is bordered with a white picket fence. It's a scene straight out of an Andy Hardy film from the 1930s. Movies, television shows, music, commercials, books, they all emphasize and point us to this patriarchal version of society where women and children are to be seen and not heard. If a woman is confident and assertive she is more likely to be perceived as a “bitch” rather than a strong leader or an ambitious go-getter if she were a man. When they work full time, women are portrayed as bad or uncaring parents and/or spouses, while men are praised for putting in tons of overtime and spending weeks away on business trips. 

Now let's talk money. While the gender wage gap may be smaller for women in the same field as men, the wage gap between career fields is large. Professions generally held by majority women, such as teachers or nurses, provide significantly lower wages than those professions generally held by a majority of men. Why? Who decided that engineering was more important, and therefore more monetarily valuable, than a teacher? Why is an investment banker worth more than the nurses who save lives every day? Our own government still does not have any plans to increase the wages for those professions generally held by women, and many of these lower wage positions require much more education, training, time, and energy than some of the higher wage positions. 

In a video we watched about the myth of the gender wage gap (watch it here), the man said that women make less money because they make bad choices for a career. Excuse me? Bad choices? If everyone in the United States went after the same higher paying jobs, who would be left to teach, and nurse, and take care of your infants and toddlers while you are working at your high paying job? Makes no sense. 

The man in that video also said that women should be encouraged to go for jobs usually held by men, like engineering or sciences. That's all fine and dandy, but he failed to take it the other way; it was as if he implied that men are much too valuable and should not be encouraged to apply for those jobs usually held by women that would go unfilled, if women are supposed to apply for “men’s jobs”. 

Ok. Say a woman does land a snazzy, high paying job. Then she gets married and decides to have a baby. In the United States, employers are not eager to offer paid maternity leave, and the maternity leave most women do receive is mediocre at best. Mothers get up to 12 weeks or unpaid time off, however many women, a majority that are minorities, cannot afford to stay home the entire 12 weeks without pay and are forced to return to work sometimes before they have even healed properly (what?!). This situation is a bit skewed, no? Modern women are expected to apply for the aforementioned “male jobs”, raise kids, keep the house tidy, and be dutiful wives all at the same time, but are not equally compensated or supported by our patriarchal capitalist society for trying to live up to those high expectations.

Something's got to give at some point, amiright? 

What are your thoughts on this?

 

P.S. I WILL NOT tolerate any hateful, vulgar, or rude comments to myself or any other person commenting on this post. If you cannot put your big girl panties/big boy boxers and have an adult discussion about this topic please do not comment at all. If you do, your comment will be deleted. Thank you.

A Blogger Reintroduction

It seems like a lot of people in blogland have taken some time off from blogging lately, myself included. Most of the time it's intentional, but sometimes it's not. Either way, we come back to our cozy spaces of the internet somewhat changed. I know I am not the same person today as I was in January when I unintentionally began to decrease my posting schedule and then in February when I just didn't show up to the party at all. A few weeks ago, I opened my email to find a message from Emily suggesting a re-introduction post since she's making her way back to blogland herself. The cool part is, she asked me, and a group of lovely ladies, to join her, and I thought that this is such perfect timing for me too! Now that I've got my sea legs back and I've gained some new readers (hi new readers!) a re-introduction is just the thing I need. So let's get to it!

Welcome to Knock on Wood! 

I've been blogging in this space for just over two years now, but it has come a loooonngg way since January of 2014. We've been through at least four design changes (that's what happens when you become a blog designer), two failed link-ups, yo-yo post schedules, and one total re-brand. I'm tired just thinking about all of that, are you?

Anyway, when I'm not blogging, I am a full-time student pursuing a degree in Clinical Psychology. I picked up my Associates in October 2015 and I'm hoping to be finished with my Bachelors in December of 2017, then I'll be off to get my Masters. Woo!

I just celebrated two years of marriage to my husband, Philip, and together we have two cats, Pumpkin and Misty, and we have Bear. Up until recently we had dachshund as well, but after months of thinking and debating and thinking some more, we decided that it would be best for us and for him if we found him a new home. And boy did we! He now lives on a farm with a family who already had doxie. They chase chickens and play tug of war and are just having a good time all around. We don't have any kids yet, but we're hoping to change that soon (read part 1 and part 2 of our Baby Journey).

As a part of this group re-introduction, we've come up with a list of questions for each of us to answer. Compare notes and get back to me on who's answers were your fav, ok? ok.

+ Where was the last place you traveled to? 

My cousin just happened to plan his wedding in North Carolina for two days after my and hubs' second wedding anniversary, so we decided to make it into a long weekend trip. We stopped in Asheville and visited the Biltmore Estate before we went on to Winston Salem for the wedding. It was a great weekend. For more than one reason (if you read our baby journey, you'll understand what I mean).

+ If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are three materialistic things you'd want with you?
My laptop, my phone, and the internet. I'd be unstoppable with those things.

+ If you knew you could not fail, what is the one thing you would do tomorrow?
Win the lottery! I mean, who doesn't want a few million dollars to play with? No, but really, it would be to get pregnant (if I'm not already, we're testing this weekend).

+What is your earliest memory?
My first memory is of my mom singing to me and reading me my favorite book when I was little. I actually wrote about this a while back for one of those failed link-ups, you can read the full story HERE.

+ If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I would totally be cool with eating pizza for the rest of my life. You can switch up the toppings and essentially have something different each day. Plus you still get all of the food groups!

+ Do you like your first name and why? If not, what would you change it to?
No. Actually, I hate it. I think would have liked it more if 3724936 other girls in my school didn't share my name with me and I didn't have to go by Amanda R. (or Amandar if you wanna go with what the stupid boys called me) for the whole of my grade school career. I reeeaallly wanted to go by my middle name, Nicole, but my mom wouldn't let me change it. If I could choose a name for myself now, it would be Sera. I guess you could say I love the name since that is what I named every single baby doll I owned growing up.

+When was the last time you tried something new, and what was it?
A couple of weeks ago I purchased my very first pair of funky patterned leggings from Target. I had be eyeing them for months and they were now on clearance, so I thought, why not? I was so sure that I wouldn't be able to pull them off and I'd only be wearing them when I clean my house. I was wrong. They actually look super adorable on me, especially with the top I just happened to have on that day.

+ If you could give yourself one gift, what would it be?
To be free from mental illness. I suffer from Depression and Anxiety, and it sucks. Every day that I make it out of bed is a small victory. So having that off my plate would make room in my brain for happier things, for patience, for self-esteem, for love, for serenity. And that would be nice.

+ Would you rather be the person asking the questions in a conversation or the person answering them?
Asking. I love to hear other people's stories, mostly because I'm nosy like that, but also because you never know what you may learn.

+ If you had to live in a place where only one season existed year-round, what would that season be?
Fall. Despite growing up the south, I'm not fan of Summer. The heat, the humidity, the sweat. Just, no. Give me crisp, cool days, scarves, and boots for life! Who's with me?

+ If money was no object, what would you do all day?
Travel! I haven't had many opportunities, or funds, to visit the places on my travel bucket list. Quite honestly, I probably won't ever complete it, but it's nice to dream though.

OK. That's enough about me. Go get yourself acquainted with these amazing women. Even if you already know them, you might learn something new!

Meagan - All the Joys

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are three materialistic things you’d want with you?
A camera with unlimited memory, chapstick and a Kindle preloaded with hundreds of books. (too much?)

Read Meagan's Re-Intro

Cassie - Sage

Would you rather be the person asking the questions in a conversation or the person answering them?
I’m a complete introvert and have been told that I don’t talk about myself very often, so I guess that implies I would rather be the person asking the questions in a conversation.

Read Cassie's Re-Intro

Kelly - Southern Komfort Blog

If you could give yourself one gift, what would it be? 
I would have to say the gift to be able to travel (no worries about money, who would take of the pups, boring adult things). I would love to travel all around the nation and the world, just meeting people and doing life with them.

Read Kelly's Re-Intro

Emily - Ember Grey.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what are three materialistic things you'd want with you?
A notebook, pen, and Sun-In. (Obviously.)

Read Emily's Re-Intro

Christine - Christine Everyday

If you knew you could not fail, what is the one thing you would do tomorrow?
I would go skydiving! That’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and if I knew for sure that I wouldn’t crash-land, I’d totally sign up.

Read Christine's Re-Intro

Lindsay - Bourbon, Lipstick, & Stilettos

If you knew you could not fail, what is the one thing you would do tomorrow? 
I would do web development/design. It is a dream of mine, but I'm struggling to find time to study and perfect it!

Read Lindsay's Re-Intro

Anne - Love the Here and Now

If you could give yourself one gift, what would it be?
Without fail, it would be self-confidence. I constantly second guess decisions and choices and don’t attempt new things because of a fear of failing or judgement. Truth be told, I could fail and be judged and I would be ok. Self-confidence would give me the edge I need not to care about those things and would enable to me to live free of doubt, fear, and feelings of inadequacy.

Read Anne's Re-Intro

Emelia - Dream Big & Buy the Shoes

If you knew you could not fail, what is the one thing you would do tomorrow?
I’ve always had the dream to be a wedding planner, but I would love to work with all types of events. I have a love of details and creating beautiful memories, so I would give it all to be an Event Planner and have the opportunity to make special moments for other people.

Read Emelia's Re-Intro

Rebecca- Adventures of Bug & Boo

Where was the last place you traveled to?
San Francisco! In February I took a long weekend to visit my BFF from middle school, and meet her new baby. It was my first time on the west coast and I fell in love! San Francisco is so different from NYC and London (both cities I lived in for a while) but it’s an awesome city in its own right. And the FOOD….I will definitely be back!

Read Rebecca's Re-Intro