The Most Gorgeous Royal Wedding I've Ever Seen

Royal Wedding Day has arrived!  My Husband spent the night at work (field exercises), so Buoy and I woke up at 4am CST and turned on our coverage of choice…Clinton Kelly and TLC (oh, The Learning Channel; how far you’ve come).  I put together some pictures and my personal commentary because I know you're dying to hear it.



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 THE GUESTS’ ATTIRE: I liked Mrs. Middleton’s dove gray dress and jacket: cautious but lovely.  I thought little brother James’ contrast collar/burgundy tie/lemon yellow vest was very English and spiffy.  Camilla’s dress was alright but I thought the color washed her out.  Princess Beatrice came in with some kind of wack-a-doo carnival game on her head (I certainly hope she did it for a laugh).  Between her and Chelsy Davy's (Harry’s on-again-off-again girlfriend) teal prom reject, they looked like they were the unholy offspring of Ke$ha and Coco Chanel.  According to TLC, Princess Anne turned to her husband during the ceremony and said of Kate, “I think she’ll make him very happy.”  Victoria Beckham looked like the Wicked Witch of the West's hefty bag.

PIPPA’S DRESS: Little sister Pippa wore what looked like Kate’s second choice wedding dress.  I mean, obviously Kate had her wear ivory, but I found it too slinky and distracting.  She was sweet with the little bridesmaids, though.  And the half up/half down hair was pretty, but I wish Pippa didn’t look so much like Kate today.

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THE QUEEN’S DRESS: Her Majesty looked just like herself; fresh but boxy.  At first I thought the canary yellow was too much, but I suppose every eye would switch between the bride and the Queen anyway so she might as well wear her favorite color.

HARRY & WILLS: So cute together!  You can tell they are best friends.  William had to face the altar the whole time, but when Kate got to the doors Harry turned back and said to William, “Right, she is here now.”

KATE & MR. MIDDLETON: I love a devoted dad on his daughter's wedding day.  Kate was gripping her father's hand and trying to breathe steadily as she went down the aisle.  He kept asking if she was OK.  Adorable.

The Abbey was beautifully decorated; I loved the trees.  It made it more like a Parisian boulevard than the slightly intimidating tomb of the British elite.  And of course, Kate's gown was a stunning take on modern bride and traditional princess.  Very Grace Kelly (which I love, since that's what I went with my own wedding gown).  There was no “obey” in the vows, which I took out of my ceremony, too.  Girl power!

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WILLS & KATE: Absolutely beautiful with each other.  While they were at the altar it was nice to see the prince struggling with facing forward…he kept sliding his eyes to the side to see Kate next to him.  Prince William said to Kate and she came up to the altar, “You look stunning, babe.” She said, “Yeah?” and he replied,“Yes, it looks fantastic; it’s beautiful.” I guess she kept her dress a surprise for him. How cute! Wills also joked to his father-in-law, “We were supposed to have just a small family affair.” Mr. Middleton looked properly bewildered the future king of England was being silly. 

The prince blinked a lot during his vows.  Tears?  No.  But I like to think he was on the brink.  I love a slightly teary-eyed groom.  Kate held up remarkably well.   I think her “tell” is licking her lips; she did that quite a bit on the altar.  I think they are really in love and happy.  Apparently she turned to him as they got into the carriage after the ceremony and said, “Are you happy?”  And he kept checking in with her and giving her little supportive looks and suggestions.  I loved it.  I loved them!  And when she came out on Buckingham Palace's balcony and said, "Oh wow," it was so touching for her to be affected that way.

Then they drove away in that Eco-friendly Astin-Martin with the balloons and the JUST WED license plate...so freaking cute without being saccharin.  I adore the both of them. 

Yes, I cried.  Yes, I'm making a big deal out of this.  But life is so crappy sometimes it's just refreshing to see two people under immense pressure have eyes only for each other.  I can only hope Prince William and Princess Catherine, the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge, make each other half as happy as they made me today watching them :)

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Getting Down Music

From the naughty to the lovely, these songs are a must for your make out session.

Random List of Songs to Get You in the Mood:

• "Can't Stop Thinking 'Bout You" by Martin Sexton
• "Secrets" by Alicia Keys
• "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" by Aretha Franklin
• "She Rides" by Danzig
• "Fortunate" by Maxwell
• "Say Yes" by Floetry
• "Delicate" by Damien Rice
• "Lay Lady Lay" by Bob Dylan
• "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby" by Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris & Gillian Welch (from the O Brother Where Art Thou Soundtrack) 
• "One Fine Day" by Natalie Merchant
• "The Nearness of You" Norah Jones
• "Like a Star" Corinne Bailey Rae
• "Comfortable" by John Mayer
• "A Long Walk" by Jill Scott
• "One and Only" by Teitur
• "Hallelujah" by Rufus Wainwright
• "A Sunday" by Jimmy Eat World
• "Georgia" by Ray Charles
• "Rude Boy" by Rihanna
• "Grey Blue Eyes" by the Dave Matthews Band

How Evolved are You?

A few days ago at the gym I saw a television advertisement for something called The Creation Museum in Kentucky.  From what I can tell, a Christian organization called AnswersInGenesis funds and runs the museum.  Apparently the building is devoted to the Earth's creation as described in the Bible. 

Frankly, I'm very confused.  The museum claims God created the Earth and everything in it in six days.  Adam, Eve and all the animals (including dinosaurs) lived together in the Garden of Eden and ate only plants.  It contains a number of fossils, the result of the Great Flood which only Noah and his family survived.

I don't know a lot about fundamental Christianity, since I wasn't raised that way (Lutheran Catholic mother who is more concerned with personal spirituality than church canon and a holiday Roman Catholic father) but I do know they take the Bible literally and consider it the actual words of God.  I know they reject the principles of evolution because A) human beings are made in God's image and therefore could never have looked like monkeys and B) if evolution was true, all monkeys would have evolved into people as evolution always ends in a creature's "perfect" form.

The following is completely editorial and I in no way intend to offend anyone.

My first issue with the Creation Museum is the Earth's age: 6,000 years.  According to most accepted scientific theories, modern homo sapiens (the classification of all human beings) began to appear about 200,000 years ago.  Anthropologists base this on fossilized bones...their shape and size matches our own almost exactly.

That's 194,000 years of struggle and hunger and childbirth and sex and love that apparently never happened.  If each of those people had a soul (as I personally believe almost all living things do) that's hundreds of thousands if not millions of souls God is "ignoring."  And considering "His eye is on the sparrow," I sincerely doubt that.

I suppose there is an argument that these bones are those of the people who died in the Great Flood, along with the bones of dinosaurs.

So let's move on to those dinosaurs.  The Creation Museum claims dinosaurs lived side by side in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve and ate only plants.  If God creates perfection and makes no mistakes, how could a Tyrannosaurus Rex eat plants without the necessary flat teeth for grinding them?  Meat-eating dinosaurs could not have possibly survived on plants...they couldn't have broken them down properly for digestion.

My last bit is about human beings being created in God's image.  As a person who spends a lot of time with animals, I can tell you they are far more Christian than any person I've ever met.  They love with abandon, forgive even the most grievous offenses, suffer willingly and require only basic necessities and love to survive.  Animals are made in God's image, and humans are devolved from their perfection. 

I came across this interesting article about how Chimpanzees give birth.  The baby emerges from the birth canal headfirst facing upward so the mother has an easier time lifting the baby toward her and clearing the airway.  This is almost exactly how human beings have babies.

I'll write more in the future about the correlation between science and religion and my own opinions about it, but for now I think I've given you enough to chew on.

 

Cutie Pie Penguin

Saw this on CNN and I had to share it.  Don't you wish you worked somewhere where baby penguins waddled around in the breakroom?

Happy Easter!

Peter Cottontail from his 1971 television movie, courtesy of
http://www.nydailynews.com

Happy Easter!

Christians worldwide celebrate Easter as Jesus of Nazareth’s resurrection from the dead.  It’s a time of rebirth and rejoicing; flowers are blooming, the air warms and the sun makes its presence known after a long winter.

Some fundamentalist Christians would probably be horrified to know the extent of Easter’s pagan origins and customs.  The very word (in English, that is) Easter derives from the old Germanic goddess of the dawn, Ēostre (also called Ostara and Ēastre).  European tribes celebrated her arrival around present day April, welcoming spring. 

The reason Christians celebrate the Christ’s resurrection around this time is because the New Testament states Jesus died just after celebrating the Jewish Passover feast (The Last Supper).  The actual date Easter is celebrated is calculated by the lunar calendar: each year Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.  Early Christians were notorious for incorporating pagan traditions into Christian ethic to smooth the path to conversion.

As for our other Easter traditions: the Easter bunny, Easter eggs and the like, they all have to do with pagan celebrations regarding spring and the moon.  Birds lay their eggs in the spring, so their abundance during this season makes their use in rites understandable.

The rabbit in the moon, courtesy of http://www.cst.cmich.edu

As for the bunny: hares and rabbits have deep associations with the moon in many cultures.  One can supposedly see a rabbit’s shape in the moon, so they therefore represent everything the moon represents…fertility (I mean, they are bunnies, after all! Plus the moon controls female menstruation), rebirth (waning and returning after a period of darkness), playfulness and sexuality (the reason the marketing genius that is Hugh Hefner chose the bunny as the symbol of Playboy Magazine).  And of course, all the things on that list can also stand for spring!

So this year when you put on your Easter bonnet and paint your eggs and cuddle your bunny, remember our holidays are not just mass-produced excuses to buy candy.  They are long-standing examples of our human history and how we understand and celebrate our world.

Cheering Up Music

Here's a list of 30 songs that always make me smile.  These will help you get through your workout or your day!


Random List of Songs that Immediately Lift My Spirits:

• "If We Ever Meet Again" by Timbaland featuring Katy Perry
• "Love Shack" by the B52s
• "B.O.B." by OutKast
• "Diva" by Beyoncé
• "Must be the Money" by Nelly
• "Mayberry" by Rascal Flatts
• "Dude Looks Like a Lady" by Aerosmith
• "La Camisa Negra" by Juanes
• "Happy Boys and Girls" by Aqua
• "C'est La Vie" by B*Witched
• "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" by Selena
• "Ça Plane Pour Moi" by Plastic Bertrand
• "That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings
• "Cotton-Eyed Joe" by the Rednex
• "My Sharona" by The Knack
• "Do My Ladies Run this Party" by Cupid
• "Latin Girls" by the Black Eyed Peas
• "The Next Best Thing" by Nicki & Rich
• "Clarity" by John Mayer
• "The Big Bang" by Rock Mafia
• "Starry Eyed Surprise" by Paul Oakenfold
• "American Child" by Phil Vassar
• "King of the Dance Hall" by Beenie Man
• "Black Betty" by Ram Jam
• "Long as I Got King Jesus" by Vickie Winans
• "Alright" by Darius Rucker
• "Say Hey (I Love You)" by Michael Franti featuring Spearhead
• "Lady Marmalade" by Mya, Pink, Lil Kim, Missy Elliot & Christina Aguilera
• "Haven't Met You Yet" by Michael Bublé
• "Many the Miles" by Sara Bareilles

Countdown to the Royal Wedding: 9 Days!

Yes, I am waking up at 4am Central Time next Friday (April 29) to watch coverage of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding.  And yes, I'm very excited about it!

The only weddings that are televised here in the United States generally have to do with reality stars...uber-Christian reality stars, got-knocked-up-at-16-reality stars, this-romance-is-all-for-the-cameras-reality stars and the like.  For God's sake, the last wedding I came across on the tube was Jon & Kate Gosselin's.  Bleh.

My mom was about my age when Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married.  She was unemployed and without children and home alone all day while her husband (my dad) worked.  Sound familiar?  I know, we're the same person.  She used to tell me about the dress and all the people lining the street and how everyone in England was so happy and hopeful for a little while.

Of course, at the time we didn't know Prince Charles had spent the previous night tearing up the sheets with Camilla Parker-Bowles...but they're married now, so bygones.

When I was a kid, there were two women in the world I wanted to be like: my mother and Prince William's mother.  I've since learned that neither is or was perfect and perhaps not the greatest role model at all times, but I'm never going to lose that idea of carrying oneself like a princess no matter who or where you are.  My mom has always carried herself like a princess.  And Lord knows no one looked more regal with a landmine mask on than Diana.

T-Mobile just released this killer advertisement featuring the upcoming nuptials.  It's a parody of that wedding video where the bridesmaids and groomsmen came dancing down the aisle in a choreographed clamor a few years ago.

See if you can pick out the VIPs: Charles and Camilla, Princes William and Harry, Princess Anne (Charles' sister) and Prince Edward and his wife Sophie.  Enjoy!

LOVE IT!

Misandry

Misandry [mis-an-dree]; NOUN -- the hatred of men or boys.  On the model of "misogyny."

I have my share of vices...probably my share and more.  One of them, which I have identified and am working on, is a prejudice against men.  I don't hate men as a rule; I don't trust them to be good people.  I can count the number of men I trust on both hands...it's certainly less than ten.

I know, I know, I'm a total hypocrite.  It's completely wrong to judge an entire group of people based on the slim fraction of said people I've met.  I just...I can't seem to help my knee-jerk reaction.  If I'm alone with a man in a room, my heart rate rises.  I prepare to fight of flee.  I don't make eye contact with men on the street.  I try not to touch men in passing.  I keep myself as invisible as possible.

I'm going to be completely honest: when I see a man on the street looking at me, I assume he wants to have sex with me.  What I don't trust is his ability to control that urge.  I'm not saying I'm so freaking gorgeous men can't contain themselves...I think this is how they respond to most women.  See woman: want to fuck.

Even as I'm writing this I'm disgusted with myself.  I've never put these feelings down on "paper" before; I've just accepted them as a normal part of my makeup.  In attempting to clarify them I see how very bigoted they are.

Now, I love My Husband with my whole heart.  He would rather cut his arm off than hurt a woman.  I love my father and both my grandfathers.  I trust a few of my male friends.  I trust my therapist.  But as for My Husband's brothers...he has three and I trust one.  I don't trust his dad.  One brother and My Husband's father have both put their hands on my butt in what I assume they thought was an appropriate manner. 

Of course, I don't like to be touched by men in general. 

Obviously this is an overblown response to the fear of sexual violation.  Is it excusable since I am capable of accepting men as good people on a case-by-case basis?  Is it excusable because these feelings may have contributed to my safety in the past 26 years?  Or is it exactly the same as colonial slave-owners who considered their African slaves to be more animal than man?

I'm leaning toward the latter.  Ugh, the self-loathing.

How will I raise my sons?  How will I prevent them from feeling inherently "bad"?  Every time I reflect on my personal inclinations I stress on how to prevent them from leaking into my children.

Speaking of Pop Stars

And speaking of pop stars, please enjoy this CollegeHumor.com original spoof of Katy Perry, Ke$ha and Lady Gaga featuring Yvonne Strahovski of NBC's Chuck.

S S S & M M M (featuring Britney Spears and Rihanna)

Courtesy of http://mrkayrell.blogspot.com/

I hope you guys aren't disappointed that this is about Rihanna's remix to "S&M" featuring Britney Spears and not some secret girl-on-girl sex tape.  My apologies.

Anyway, have you heard that remix?  Rihanna's lyrics were one thing but Britney's take masochism to a whole new level:




Just one night full of sin (Oh oh oh oh oh)
Feel the pain on your skin (Oh oh oh oh oh)
Tough, I don't scream mercy
It's your time to hurt me
Yeah (Oh oh oh oh oh)
If I'm bad tie me down (Oh oh oh oh oh)
Shut me up, gag and bound (Oh oh oh oh oh) Me
'Cause the pain is my pleasure
Nothing comes better
Yeah


I love the beat to the song (excellent to do the stair machine to) and even though Rihanna's lyrics are on the dirty side, I felt like it was more dominatrix-like than not.  All of her songs have a tough, hardcore vibe even if she's wounded in them.  They remind me of the character Lady Heather from CSI: Las Vegas.  Vulnerability masked with the sheen of leather and Kool-Aid red hair color.

But Britney's just sound...painful.  Like, sex slave painful.  You'd think with a girl power tour for "Femme Fatale" featuring Nicki Minaj, her addition to "S&M" would be way ballsier than Rihanna's original stuff.

I was excited about this collaboration.  I love pop music and listen to it almost exclusively every workout.  Needless to say, after hearing the sample on iTunes I popped for the original instead.  It's counterproductive to try and push through the shortness of breath that comes with the treadmill by hearing about a girl getting the Dr. Pepper get smacked out of her. 

Body Issues

I am a woman: therefore, I used to be a girl and therefore I have body issues.  As I contemplate future parenting, I wonder if there is any way to prevent my daughter(s) from developing similar issues.  I've come to the conclusion there probably isn't, but hopefully I can secure their confidence levels so they can get over said issues quicker than I did.

Last post I told you about my weight and how I’ve dealt with it over the years.  My other body issues range from skin color to hair color to everything in between.

I grew up in a very urban area, a major city in Massachusetts.  The high school I attended is in a rough neighborhood and had a student body to match.  Our racial demographic was pretty balanced…about 30/30/30/10 (with the 30s being white, Hispanic and African-American and the 10 being Asian).  As I’ve said, the predominant ideal of beauty comprised of caramel-toned skin, dark hair, light eyes and the curves of a woman twice your age.  Having only one out of those four down, I wasn’t considered the “hottest” of girls for most of my teens.

Being referred to as “white” was a grave insult in school.  When I was a child my sympathetic friends described my race as “clear.”  I burned my skin to a crisp those summers as I tried to tan evenly.  I dyed my hair brown (it ended up a dirty blonde and hasn’t returned to the white-wine color of my childhood since).  I made a big deal out of my Italian heritage (maiden name: RAMITTIO), which was the closest I could get to a minority bloodline.

Then came university, and the group of whitest roommates I could imagine: Gretchen from Maine, Caroline from a Boston suburb, Megan from upstate New York and Lauren from Michigan. 

And me. 

All my years of attempting to assimilate into another world left me ill-prepared for my new Dave Matthews Band-listening, pastel polo shirt-wearing friends.  Everyone’s skin was still tanning bed bronze, though.

Luckily college is a time to find the true you, so I eventually surrounded myself with a group of girls of varied interests and races whom I still consider my closest friends.  You can’t get me out into the sun without SPF 60 (melanoma is not worth the fabulous surfer skin) and I’m embracing my natural blonde…the color of antique gold jewelry.

But now I’m entering the 20-something world of pre-pregnancy and post-pregnancy weight, stretch marks and a slowing metabolism.  A whole new crop of body issues is sure to surface with this new stage I my life.  Hopefully my knowledge that I survived the last crop with a shred of self-confidence intact will help me weather anything new that comes my way.


PS -- Still struggling?  Check out Eve Ensler's play The Good Body.  Totally changes your perspective. 

The Weight Pendulum

"Would we call her 'chubby' ?"
"I think there's a pretty sizable ass there, yes, sir.  HUGE thighs." -- Love Actually

I inherited my mother's body type but my father's body shape.  I have shorter legs and a very long torso.  My mother graciously endowed me with her pear-bordering-on-hourglass type.  I have a 36C chest, a 32-inch waist (which I'm working on whittling) and hips in the 40-inch range (working on that one, too).  As a child I was extremely slim...I had a natural inclination to it as my mom had always been slim, I was very active and a picky eater.

My sisters were not so "lucky."  Both inherited my mother's proportions (longer legs and a shorter torso) but are more apple-shaped like my dad.  They tend to put weight on in their bellies first, and each has a smaller chest and hips than I do.  Both were overweight as children...Chloë (older) got thinner as she got taller but still has food issues.  Sarah (younger) has been an athlete for decades and tends to keep weight on as she trains.

To compensate, my mom regularly told the three of us Chloë and Sarah were more "naturally" beautiful than I was.  I was never allowed to tease them about their weight, but both my sisters could get away with insulting my slimness.  One of the most popular remarks had to do with the fact based on weight alone, I should have been in a booster seat in the car until I was 12 years old.  My sisters each had a full-length mirror in their rooms but I did not...Mom thought it would make me vain.  Looking back, keeping me humble (she calls it "grounded") seemed to be a mission for her.

Anyway, I was teased mercilessly for my lack of figure through elementary and middle school.  Kids regularly pulled the back of my shirts to snap my bra strap and collapsed in giggles when they found I didn't wear one.  In an urban culture where curves are celebrated, I was the odd one out.

I hit puberty at 16 (a mere week before Sarah did at 14) and started putting on some muscle.  By 18 I was 5'5" and about 140lbs.  I was still flat but I had some junk in my trunk, so I was coping.

Enter my Caucasian-heavy college years.  All of a sudden the slimness I hated in myself a few years ago was the epitome of beauty.  Even flat girls knew all the tricks to enhance their cup size and had practiced them from puberty.  All of a sudden the junk in my trunk got pitying looks from my size 00 roommates.

SIDENOTE: What the hell is size 00, anyway?  That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of.  Next thing you know there will be negative sizes.  "Yeah, I'm a 2 now but I'd like to be a -4 before the wedding."  Gross. 

The next stop in my body image saga: the Pill.  When I met My Husband at age 20, I decided he was the one I wanted to give my virginity to.  I put myself on the Pill and proceeded to put on about 20lbs, going from a 32B to a 36C.

It's almost six years later and I've swung pretty regularly between 145lbs and my current weight of 170lbs over that time.  At 5'8" I'm now considered overweight, which is a new experience for me.  I am a size 6 in dresses and a size 12 in pants because of my ass and thighs.

I'm trying not to focus on my weight anymore, but more on my fitness level.  I don't think I'll ever be rail thin again, and I don't want to be.  My Husband loves every inch of me, and I enjoy being a woman so I don't want to destroy all my soft parts. 

But still...there is that little voice inside me that bases my worth as a person by that number on the scale.

Stone of Scone

From Old England: a Pictorial Museum
by Charles Knight, 1845

In the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey there's a little shelf underneath the seat for the Stone of Scone.  This sandstone slab is supposedly the pillow Jacob used as he slept and wrestled with angels.  It's been used for centuries to impart divine right to the kings of Scotland.  In 1296 Edward I (you may recall him as Edward "Longshanks" from the movie Braveheart) stole the stone and had it put in his throne back in London.  By doing so he symbolically ensured all future English kings crowned in said chair were also kings of Scotland.

As you may or may not know, Scotland has had a long and bloody national history.  When Elizabeth I (the famous Virgin Queen) died childless in 1603, James VI of Scotland (a descendant of one of Henry VIII's sisters and therefore Elizabeth's cousin) inherited the English throne as James I and thus created the present-day country of Great Britain.

Self (or home) rule has since been a sticking point for many Scots.  In 1950, a post-war nationalist movement gained support when four Scottish university students stole the stone from Westminster Abbey and returned it (after a period of "laying low") to their homeland.  My Husband and I just saw the 2008 film about the heist, Stone of Destiny via Netflix this weekend.

The incident's protagonist, Ian Hamilton, is a barrister (lawyer) and a member of the Scottish National Party.  He's 83 years old, has a blog and is one of my new favorite people.  Imagine, a guy who was in Scotland during WWII and did this amazing thing and now he's online?!  Technology is totally worth the government surveillance.

Courtesy of the Anglophile Thomas Moore, Sr.

By the way, the Church of Scotland (to whom the students and their Nationalist Party mentor had entrusted the stone) eventually surrendered it to English authorities.  In 1996 a great show was made of "returning" the stone to Scotland amid renewed Nationalist fervor as long as it could be used in all future British coronations.  The four students were arrested and charged, but never prosecuted.

There's a rumor, too, that when a master mason repaired the broken stone (which probably had been broken for hundreds of years) in Scotland, he made copies and the stone that will return for Charles' (or William's, for that matter) coronation as the next king of Great Britain will not be the original.

If you want to take lessons in thumbing your nose at authority, ask a Scot to teach you :) 

Major League Bummer

You know what I hate?  Baseball players who pump junk into their systems and claim to be athletes.  That's like getting Botox every six weeks and claiming to be "naturally" wrinkle free.  Oooh, but it's a naturally occurring bacterium.  Human Growth Hormone occurs naturally in the body, so injecting more of it into your ass is totally kosher.

Manny, seriously?  Is it silly of me to be surprised as more names get drawn into this mire of crap?  I hate asterisks.  I hate them.  I hate how they hang up there, broadcasting their nefarious purpose.  Yeah, he did this.  Sort of.  But there's more to the story.  And you're probably not gonna like it.

Stump the Bookseller

I am a book fiend.  My older sister taught me to read when I was about three years old and I haven't really stopped since.  I'll read pretty much anything once and a lot of my favorite books over and over again.  My Husband's suggested getting me a Kindle a number of times, but I have so many beloved books we'd have to purchase again...it's just not worth it.

As a kid I read everything from children's books to adult classics (I honestly thought Animal Farm was going to be about an animal farm).  While looking for a picture book I couldn't think of the title of, I found this website and I've really enjoyed perusing it ever since.

Harriet Logan runs a used bookstore, Loganberry Books (literature's gone green!), in Shaker Heights, Ohio.  She had a hobby of finding long-lost children's titles for her customers and turned that hobby into a website.  For $2.00 you can post a description of the book you can quite recall, and either she or one of the site's visitors will answer it for you!  Totally cool, especially for me...I want my baby to have more books than diapers when he/she gets here someday.

My book stumper involves a children's book I read in sixth or seventh grade (approximately 1997).  The only things I can remember about it is a group of girls who each have a magical gift which helps them "work;" one girl with cropped black hair has a belt or girdle that makes her invisible because she's a thief by trade.  I feel like another girl was a seamstress or something, but I can't be sure.  I'm also assuming there were either three or seven girls in the story...those are pretty magical numbers and the appear in a lot of literature.

So far no one has figured out my book, but I paid my $2.00 and I am still hopeful!  It's listed in the Stumper Archives as M595.  Check this site out and reminisce about the books you loved as a kid. 

Bad News

Our latest piece of news...My Husband's best friend and college roommate's dad has been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.  The doctors pretty much told him he can have six months or less without chemotherapy and maybe a year with it.

As if that doesn't suck enough, said roommate is getting married on Memorial Day weekend.  So basically that could be the last time their entire family gets together.  And of course, now the wedding isn't really about the couple anymore.  Every happy event in the next few years (his sister's wedding, their first baby, etc.) is gonna be marred by the fact his dad is gone.

I'm so sad for them in this entire situation.  And it makes me think about losing My Husband.  It doesn't take much to make me think about losing My Husband, what with the line of work he's in, but this definitely does it.

And because I wouldn't be me without that selfish little voice in the back of my head, I'm disappointed the wedding has taken on an entirely different tone.  This is my first non-family wedding and my first with My Husband (minus our own).  And I have to tell you, our wedding wasn't all wine and roses.

The pressure for perfection was intense.  My father continually lamented how much it was costing him and screamed at me regularly to vent his frustration.  My sisters were only sporadically involved, being busy with their own lives.  My mother continually reminded me to be grateful.  My parents invited a married couple to the wedding in exchange for them re-sodding the front lawn.  My Husband was gone all day Friday and late for the rehearsal dinner because of his second bachelor party in Boston the Thursday night.  He was late for the ceremony Saturday afternoon because his older brother took 90 minutes to get ready and then stopped to fill his empty gas tank before taking the wrong highway to the church.  And a million other little things.

So I was excited for this wedding...I had no worries, I new exactly how to be helpful to the bride, groom and their families and there was absolutely no pressure.  Sweet deal.  Now that's all gone and I have no idea how to act when we get there.

Besides that, I feel terrible for the bride because she isn't the focus of her own wedding day and she's got a way better reason for it than I ever did.  I want to write her a letter or something...let her know I know she'll be worried about her fiance and his family, but that it's OK to take a few minutes to say, "This is about me and my husband-to-be."  I don't want her to start off her marriage with resentment.

But then again, that may be crossing a boundary.  I've only met her once, and I've only met My Husband's roommate and handful more times.  So maybe I should just mind my own business.  As empathetic as I am to the situation, I don't know what it's like to watch your father and father-in-law die in the months just after your wedding and I don't want to be...what's a good word?  Nosy?  Pushy?  Opinionated?

Thinking about this makes my head hurt. 

New Dress Obession: Victoria Beckham Inspired Pieces from ASOS

I'm a shopper.  I love clothes and I love to shop.  When My Husband was overseas I found myself spending a little recklessly out of boredom and sadness.  It was the first time in my life I didn't have to really budget...his salary pays all our bills and when he was in Iraq he wasn't spending a dime.  So I spent for the both of us.

Recently I managed to shop a site and fall in love with their dresses without buying them.  I realized I can appreciate their structure and how they looked on the models but did not actually need them (plus I just bought a Banana Republic silk wrap dress and a Max & Cleo Navajo Print mini in Kansas City).  So I'm learning temperance slowly but surely.

Anyway, my new go-to online shop is a British site called ASOS. 

Their dresses are gorgeous!  You can find some of the floaty, blouson-type ones that are in right now, but for the curvier girls (like me) they have a ton of stretch-infused, pencil skirted items that manage to make you look sexy and sophisticated.  Like Mrs. Victoria Beckham (how'd you like that segway?)!

The ASOS Victoria Beckham inspired line is classic: 

Now that is fashion.

Another Day, Another Online Discovery

In my internet travels this weekend I came across an organization dedicated to "connecting the civilian and military worlds."  In the days of pop stars' plea deals and political posturing making headlines instead of our men and women overseas, it's nice to discover websites like this one.  They sponsor billboards and television ads to remind civilians there are two conflicts going on and soldiers and their families are still sacrificing.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Entertainment Section as much as the next person.  Probably more so since I'm so into the movie/television/theater scene.  But it's difficult to comprehend that in 2006, almost one third of American students polled couldn't find the STATE OF LOUISIANA on a map of the United States...half couldn't find Mississippi (I don't even want to think about the brain hemorrhaging caused by looking for Iraq or Afghanistan).  But I guarantee you 100% of those kids could name the four main characters in Sex & the City.

And I know the whole point of My Husband's service is so that little Iraqi girls and boys have the opportunity to learn about geography or which Jimmy Choo sandals go with which one night stand, but one would think the approximately 5,000 hours kids spend in schools each year would ensure something scholastic stuck in their little brains. 

Anyway, special thanks to Operation Never Forgotten for this photo and all the good work they're doing for military members and their loved ones.

This I Believe

Courtesy of http://blog.codlibrary.org/?p=521

I just finished This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, published in 2006 and edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman.

The original This I Believe was a series of radio broadcasts running from 1951-1955 and was the brainchild of a personal idol, Edward R. Murrow and some of his associates.  They'd collect and record essays from notable names and local "everymen" about their core beliefs.

The broadcasts were so popular they were translated into a number of languages and similar projects were launched in other countries around the world.  Eventually the recordings were published as essay collections.  This newest volume contains testimony from original 1950s participants like Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Robinson and introduces more modern faces like Eve Ensler, Bill Gates and John Updike.

Frankly, I'm obsessed.  Each essay is short and clear (the recordings ranged from three to five minutes tops) and so they book, even with its deep purpose is a very easy read.  The editors have a website that contains all the original 1950s transcripts, gives visitors the opportunity to write their own "This I Believe" essay along with all sorts of other fun stuff.

For my atheist readers, the book is obviously a little heavy on the God and faith stuff, but you'd be pleased to read Penn Jillette's piece "There is No God," that emphasizes the importance of humanity.

Please, please, please check out this book or its original format.  No matter where you're from, who you are or what you believe, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Has Buoy's bed-wetting ended?

When I told my mom about the issues we've been having with Buoy marking her bed, she agreed with the anxiety angle our vet is considering.  Instead of a nightlight (like the vet talked about), my mom suggested a piece of clothing that smelled like me to help Buoy feel more secure.

A few nights ago I tried it with a pair of my sweatpants I'd lazed around in the last couple of evenings.  I turned them inside out and spread them over her bed so that they covered most of it and put her in her crate.  She actually settled in almost immediately and slept through the night!  As far as I can tell she hasn't marked her bed with urine.

I've also found if the clothing (currently a t-shirt) isn't covering the bed and is bunched in the corner or something, Buoy will rustle around the way she does before she marks, trying to straighten it out.  If I go in there and fix it for her, she lays down right away without peeing.

I can't really blame her for needing a little comfort.  Last night I pulled out my old stuffed toy, a GUND golden retriever named Noel Dog, to sleep with while My Husband was in the field.  With all the activity in the troop and everyone muttering about Afghanistan next spring and the fact that I went off my birth control pills on Sunday and we could get pregnant at any moment...well, I need a little comfort myself.