One little, two little, three little zhindians...

Zhindian.

That term was created by SaltMama when Mr. Salt and I were dating. "You two will have zhindians!" she said. It's a fun term. Mr. Salt and I use it a lot to talk about any future children and situations.

Yesterday, we headed to see a softball game (which was part of a tournament) of a couple we know from church. Their youngest daughter was the flowergirl in our wedding, and we've had fellowship with them for the past year. It was a great outing. We got fresh air, visited a new restaurant, and if I wasn't sick, I would have stayed longer.

Mr. Salt admitted today that seeing all the kids made him wish for kids...zhindians. I know I want to have them. I wanted my mother to see any grandkids, but she passed before she could even meet Mr. Salt. My PCOS (PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome) worries me, but if I get it under control, I should be fine. My PCOS has given me plenty of false alarms though, and even now, I dread taking another pregnancy test. I want it to be positive.

Having zhindians also creates some interesting discussions when it comes to Navajo clans. As I stated in my very first post, Mr. Salt has four clans, his main two being the Salt and Mexican People clans. When we have kids, the kids loses two clans, compared to another Navajo who have four. SaltMama has it figured it out to where any kids of ours will belong to a black person (me) and born for the Mexican People (Mr. Salt).

We hope this would do if our kids have to go to school on the Rez. One of the very first greetings to one another on the Rez is "What are your clans?" It helps establish family, friendship, and dating possibilies (You're not supposed to date within your clan. It's considered incest).

So for now, we talk about future zhindians we will have. And how 'john' they will be. What is 'john'. Rez terminology that have to dedicate a future post to. But for now, think upper class ghetto.

DineBoo

It's all about perspective...

Yesterday was Columbus Day. My conversation with Mr. Salt went like this:

DineBoo: Today's Columbus Day! Feel like scalping someone?
Mr. Salt: Not yet, but soon!

Prior to meeting Mr. Salt, I really didn't think about Columbus Day. All I knew it was a holiday that I didn't get off at school or at work. Now I know that it can be very insulting for some.

Imagine giving a holiday to the person that started the invasion of your homeland? That started the massacre of your people? That it is one note in history that caused your people great harm?

So we have Columbus Day. Mr. Salt doesn't celebrate it, obviously. He also doesn't really celebrate Thanksgiving, another obvious one. I mean, the Family comes together to eat, but that's it.

Because of a man, Native Americans were almost reduced to nothing. They were caricatures. And it's taken years to address that, even though some negative images remain.

A black comedian said it best: Washington N*ggers.

Puts it all into percpective.

As a side note, Mr. Salt was cheering when the Clevland Indians beat the New York Yankees. What he said, and I quote:

Mr. Salt: Screw Columbus! The Indians have won!

DineBoo

Hormones, hormones, hormones...

For a lot of women, there comes a time during every month where our female hormones start surging. Apparently, mine started this week.

I have had mood swings all week. One day I get really aggravated with Mr. Salt over something silly that I normally don't care about. The other day I'm all depressed and want to be left alone. Today, I'm sobbing over the ending to A Time to Kill. Yes, I know it's emotional, but it's not a movie I've cried about before. And I've seen the ending more than five times!

I just love my body.

-DineBoo

Time to get back to work

On Tuesday, I reenter the workforce after being off for about a year.

During my time off, I got married and played homemaker, taking care of Mr. Salt. It was kind of a test run, mostly to see if we could handle things if I had zhindians and I wanted to stay home. We're on the edge, but it's a wait and see type of situation.

I'm kinda nervous. I haven't been in an office for a while, but I think I'll be okay. It'll be nice to get up and have something to do again. Now all I have to do is to start planning for when to do my exercises and Mr. Salt's and I lunches. And buy more businesses casual attire. I need a long skirt, a few tops, and another jacket.

I've enjoyed my rest, but now is the time to put my degree to use. I've spent too much money on it not to.

-DineBoo

Walk this way

Mr. Salt and I didn't walk today. He was tired and and has been working weird hours.

We recently started walking to lose weight. We chose to walk outside, since there's a lot of trails around here. But Texas makes it so hard since its really hot now. But that's no excuse either. Texas stays hot until September.

The good thing about walking outside is that it gives Mr. Salt and I a chance to talk and unwind about the day together. We also surprise ourself on how far we can walk before returning back to the starting point. So the pros of walking outweigh the heat at this point.

Since we're walking to lose weight, it also means we have to adjust our diets...which means no more frybread for now. That excludes celebrations, however. Special occasions always call for frybread!

DineBoo

What are your clans?

First of all, welcome to my blog! I'm DineBoo, the 'Zhini' of Zhindian Affairs. I've discussed with my husband about creating a blog about our life, so here it is. This will also have commentary on interracial living, issues, Navajo way, and of course, frybread.

So let me introduce my husband, the 'indian' of Zhindian Affairs. I'll say this in English to simplify things:

He belongs to Salt Clan, and is born for the Mexican People Clan. So he'll be called Mr. Salt from now on. If I say his other two clans, people would probably figure out who he is ;)

If we were to create our own clan, it would have to be the Tasty Salt Clan. It's a joke from my mother-in-law.

When Mr. Salt was talking about his family when we were dating, it would often confuse me when he would talk about his many grandmas. Especially when I thought you would only have two grandmas. Now that I know about the clan system, I get it.

So what are your clans?

DineBoo, who passed all but two of the tests to be a Navajo wife. More on that later.