I started quilting last summer as a defensive measure. My husband designs and makes beautiful original furniture. He made nearly all of the furniture in our house, including our bed, a redwood fence around the patio, and a copper-topped dining table. He also does magnificent stained glass and watercolors.There was a clear and present danger that he would go down in our family's history as artist, brainiac, and generous bequeather of one-of-a-kind heirlooms, and I would get a sidenote as that chick who spoke a lot of languages and messed around on the computer. Something had to be done.

I started Tae Kwon Do three years ago, and it changed my life. I've been doing Northern Eagle Claw style Kung Fu for the past year, and the two complement each other very well. MA is more than just exercise and self defense. For me, the attraction is that you're never done --- even after you achieve the mythical Black Belt, there is, and will always be, something more to learn, to perfect, to strive for. MA is also very good for bringing a person back to the realities of delayed gratification, self determination, and personal responsibility. In MA, you're as good as your practice. The more you practice, the better you get, period. There's no way to b.s. your way to the highest position. Natural gift only gets you so far. Martial Arts appeals to the Puritan meritocrat in me.

In May I became pregnant. Click here for a diary of my experiences as a gravid martial artist.