But I’m Not a Housewife!
Domestic Bliss, EventuallyArchive for Things I Love
Love it! For Writers Who Use Macs…
I’m telling you about my new word processor, Scrivener, not because I’m being paid to (I’m not) but because it’s an awesome product and I have writer friends with Macs who might be interested in it (you know who you are). It is amazing and cheap at only $40. I’m still using my free 30 day trial (which only counts down on the days you actually use it, and therefore lasts a long time), but I will definitely save up to buy it when that is done. The reason I’m in love with it, is that I can save what would normally be many separate files in Word or Pages, all together. I can then work on one piece at a time or link them all together.
Another great feature is that you can view the synopses of each of those pieces like index cards on a bulletin board, and then move them around like you would in real life. Isn’t that cute?!
I’m totally, totally in love with it. I’d love to hear from other people who have tried it too. If you are at all interested in it, check out this video preview of Scrivener. Do it!
The Real Rules For Girls
I may have mentioned before that I worry about teenage girls these days, what with half naked women on every billboard, the Pussycat Dolls being marketed to elementary school kids, and Girls Gone Wild commercials every other second on a popular cable channel – one that bleeps out bad words but advertises that young college girls should be naked and gyrating all over each other on camera if they wanna be normal (that would be Comedy Central, in case you weren’t sure). Ugh, I could go on, and on, but what would be the point? The bottom line is it was hard enough when I had to go through it; I can’t even imagine what it’s like to grow up a girl today.
So, to be honest, I obsess about what all this media does to the minds of young girls, to the point that I read stacks of YA (Young Adult) novels with a secret hope that there will be something in them to assuage my concern, some kind of magic advice that will get them through puberty and young adulthood with their inner-selves unscathed.
That in mind, I picked up this book at my local library and enjoyed it cover to cover one evening. It ain’t perfect, but it’s got a lot of good advice in it about overcoming shyness and being in control. My favorite parts are the ones that insist that you won’t want to know, much less, date the popular football star when you’re an adult, and that your first boyfriend is really just for practice.
Your first boyfriend should be like the first pancake, just a tester to see if the griddle is hot enough.
One more pearl:
Don’t whine. Whining’s for those who can’t ask for what they want.
I wish I had learned to ask for what I want at an earlier age – in all areas of life.
P.S. I didn’t even know that Courteney Cox Arquette wrote the foreward to this book, as my copy came from the library and that is where the library puts it’s branch sticker.
Heloise and Playboy: His and Hers Thrift Store Finds
My husband and I recently spent a lovely Sunday strolling up and down South Broadway St. in Denver, which is rightly called antique row. We each found a book that we couldn’t live without – published in 1970 and 1971, respectively.
I mean seriously, how have we survived without these books!? The covers are priceless and the info inside is top notch.
The inside cover to Heloise’s Hints for Working Women beckons:
Leading a Double Life?
Are you the lady of the house–and the brains of a business? The wife and the working girl? The comforting mama and the chic careerist?
And on the back:
Try Letting
your mattress do your ironing!
your old nylons do your scrubbing!
Cut Cooking Time
by slicing pies before freezing!
by making “squareburger”-hamburgers!
Be Prettier Quicker
by wetting rollers instead of hair!
These will be fun to read. I’ll share the best gems of wisdom with you as I come to them.
Caramelized Onions and Eggs and Greek Yogurt, Like Heaven
It figures that the day after I sign up for NaBloPoMo, in which bloggers vow to post every day, I would slack off and miss a day. I was on a five day streak, and then yesterday it was soooo beautiful here in Denver, that I spent the day outside with my husband, cooked a lovely supper with him, and then was too tired to remember that I had breakfast pics to post about.
So here they are today, two of my favorite breakfasts:
Fried Eggs With Caramelized Onions
Greek Gods Yogurt With Berries
I read about the caramelized onions with eggs years ago in Suzanne Somers’ first Cookbook Eat Great, Lose Weight. I’m not anti-carb, but sometimes I go on Carb heavy streaks and I feel I need to eat fewer for awhile.
Yesterday, I knew we’d be eating spaghetti for dinner, so I left the toast out of my breakfast. I sauteed an entire red onion in olive oil and fried up two eggs. I used to eat this with sliced tomatoes on the side, but we got a great deal on grape tomatoes at our local market, so I added them to the pan when the onions were almost done and I was just putting the eggs in the pan. They added a sweet tanginess as a contrast to the caramelized onions. Oh my gosh! My favorite breakfast ever!
As for the Greek Gods Yogurt, my husband found it the other day and thought it was so good, he texted me about it from work. That night he was eating it again. When I asked him what it tasted like, he said, “Like heaven!” And we laughed and laughed because it sounded so cheesy. But it is true! This yogurt is amazing! It’s not exactly low in fat, but if you eat it instead of ice cream, it’s a very healthy dessert. You could easily serve it on a graham cracker crusts with berries and pass it off to guest as alow-fat cheesecake.
Casey snuck into the yogurt photos. He follows me wherever I go!
United States of Tara: I Love Toni Colette
I just watched a the first episode of Showtime’s new series in which Toni Colette plays a mom with multiple personalities. John Corbett plays her simpathetic and understanding husband. Honestly, the first episode presents as strong a marriage as anybody could hope for in today’s mixed-up world. According to Bust Magazine,
the crux of the story seems to be a modern woman trying to deal with shifting expectations of women – something we can all relate to, even with only a single personality.
It’s an interesting premiss for a show because Dissociative Identity Disorder is so controversial and reputedly not an actual disease. It’s best to take the approach of the commenter DebbieS, who responded,
As a Psych PhD myself, I’d go with the idea that this disorder does not really exist. So, in the show, I just accept it as a literary construct, a way for Diablo to tell this story and deal with particular issues, just like some scripts use vampires to get certain ideas across. (Emphasis mine.)
Or as Kimmy Gibbler responded,
I’m loving this in the way that I love House and Weeds: just ignore the silly premise of the show and love the characters. (Yes!)
I find both observations to be very true. The bright minds and talented actors behind this show are not at all asserting that it is a real disease, or that this is how Dissociative Identity Disorder is. But it is a provacative look at family relationships and the ways that women are expected to behave. It makes you think: and that’s just good TV.
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But I'm Not a Housewife! 