13 Wednesday Nov 2013
I have been neglectful of my blog lately…so here is a little picture drawn by The Girl. She was teaching my son and I about science. What do you think the topic was?
Posted by Tara | Filed under Adventures in Mommydom, Kid-Friendly Fun
09 Tuesday Apr 2013
Posted in Because Domestic Goddesses Read
Tags
Alex, Before I Fall, Book of the Erised, book review, books, Delirium, Dystopia, Hana, Lauren Oliver, Lena
As you guys know, I am participating in the Dystopia Reading Challenge hosted by Blog of the Erised. My goal to at least get to the Rebel level. I have to say that I am moving along nicely too.
Image from Goodreads.com
I have had Delirium on my to-be-read list for quite some time. I had read Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver, in 2010 as a ARC book and really enjoyed her writing style.This challenge gave me a good reason to finally get to it. I want to remind you guys that I may include spoilers and so if you are interested in my spoiler-free review then you may want to check out my Goodreads review.
The Basic Premise
Downtown of Portland, Maine. Taken from North St. near the East End School. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Delirium takes place in Portland, but in this world the government has found that love is a problem and the cause for many ailments and leads to death. Yes, love is a major problem and they have developed a cure for it. Lena was raised in the world after the cure, and cannot wait to go through the procedure. She lost her mother to that awful emotion and she sees the cure as the beginning of her new life and in a way it will be the beginning of her life since after the surgery she will be matched with her husband and can attend college.
The world seems pretty organized and it seems that everything is running smoothly, but there is a contingent of people who do not think that the cure is a good thing. People who do not have the cure and live outside the city limits (in The Wild) are called invalids. The Invalids cannot marry, hold jobs, and are believed to live like savages and the government would like people to believe that they have been eradicated. Even though the government wants their citizens to believe all is well, there are hints of unrest and as the day of her surgery approaches Lena begins to see that the tidy and predictable world around her is filled with secrets… And maybe the things she liked about the world she lived in may not be what she likes after all.
08 Monday Apr 2013
Tags
advice, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Eos, HELP, humor, life, molded meat, sewing, Thought, Ulysses, United States, Wikipedia
I never realized I have saved lives with this blog, but apparently I have because Wow Gold (thinking that may not be his real name) has told me that this blog has saved his life. Here is his sincere comment (which somehow ended up filtered into my spam folder)…
“I must show my appreciation to this writer just for rescuing me from this matter. Right after checking throughout the the web and seeing techniques which were not beneficial, I assumed my entire life was over. Being alive without the presence of approaches to the issues you’ve resolved by way of your entire guideline is a serious case, and those which might have badly damaged my career if I hadn’t encountered the blog. Your own personal mastery and kindness in controlling the whole thing was crucial. I am not sure what I would have done if I hadn’t come upon such a point like this. I am able to at this moment look ahead to my future. Thanks for your time so much for this high quality and sensible guide. I will not hesitate to refer the website to any person who requires guidelines on this issue.”
So after reading this heartfelt message, I thought I would save some more lives and help some of those people who happened across my blog searching for information that I think they did not find. I was also thinking that some of you may be dying for the information too, since if one person searched for it then there has to at least five more people who were just too embarrassed to ask, or had not thought to ask about it yet. So let’s see what people were looking for, shall we?
“drink my morning pee goddess“
I don’t know if there is actually a goddess devoted to drinking morning pee. Well, I guess we could look at Eos, the goddess of the dawn, since it is the morning pee and not the evening pee (since we all know that morning pee is definitely more potent). According to Wikipedia,”The dawn goddess Eos was almost always described with rosy fingers or rosy forearms as she opened the gates of heaven for the Sun to rise.” A case can be made that “opening the gates” may be a euphemism for peeing, right?
There is also Parthenope who was a siren who, in desperation at not seducing Ulysses with her voice, threw herself into the sea and died. Her body washed up on the shores of Naples; the Italian city, therefore, is sometimes referred to by the name of the lost siren (http://www.umich.edu). Okay, so she was not exactly a goddess, her name is Partheno-pee and she threw herself into water the way pee throws itself into water. It is a stretch, but I figured I would share it anyway.
Finally, I noticed that there were a lot of choices for Pee Goddesses in the porn realm and so I am thinking that may be a thing too… Unfortunately, if that is what you are looking for then you will have to do your own google search.
“make your husband miserable club”
Is there an actual club for this? Not that I know of, but someone could make one. Of course, there is a fan club for Wizards of Waverly Place and that would work just as well for me. Actually, my husband told me last night that there is a show would work better as a torture device… Ant Farm.
What do you think? Could it work better with than than waterboarding for husbands?
“kitty litter volcano”
This sounds like an interesting craft project, huh? Actually, the first thing I thought of was that this person must have been looking for a science fair project. Well, I guess it makes sense. Most cat litter is made out of clay and if you wet it down it would clump and make a clay that you could mold into a volcano shape. I did find a blog post that should be what you were looking for that is aptly named “Kitty Litter Volcano“.
I also found a little video that is kind of cute and also fits the bill.
Who knows maybe this person was just looking for a Stunt Kitty video.
“pug memorial”
Is it me or is this a bit morbid? This is coming from a person who still has her beloved “Madison” in an urn in the living room. Anyway, I could not pass by the opportunity to help with this one. I don’t know if many of you are aware that there are companies out there that specialize in pet memorials… and there are some that even have pug specific memorial items. Here is one option…
Yes, it is an urn. See the remains are inside.
Personally, I kind of like this one a little more.
Made by blessingart and found on cafepress.com
I kind of like the sweetness of the quote and the cute Pug picture.
“sewing ADHD“
Image found on http://sewliberated.typepad.com/
I am thinking “sewing ADHD” is when you start tons of new sewing projects and never finish any of them. At least, that is what is is for me. I think this person has the opposite of “sewing ADHD”. She can’t sew without a lot of distractions, where as I will do all sorts of other things rather than sew, which is why I have about 50 girl scout patches scattered around the house and not on my daughter’s brownie vest. I have not tried staples, like this mom, but I have tried the fabric fusion glue and the iron on stuff and so far… none of it has worked so at some point I will sit down and sew those suckers on. What my real problem might be is that I don’t know what french chalk is and that it really is that I forget to put on my lipstick, powder, and “look neatly put together” and because of this I am always freaking out that my husband may come home and find me sewing with a disheveled appearance. The horror!
“moulded meat”
Who is not looking for moulded meat these days? Meatloaf is not only yummy, but can also be fun (remember Justin Bieber’s meat tribute). Why not try a meat cake on your next special occasion? Actually, josefiend.com has lots of great ideas for moulded meat. At some point I think I might try to make these meat flowers at some point.
Meat flowers from http://josefiend.com
I love salami, pepperoni, and hot dogs!
Thanks for stopping by The Domestic Goddess Help (or at least trying to help) Desk! Stop by again soon!
05 Friday Apr 2013
Posted in Adventures in Mommydom, Kid-Friendly Fun
For my daughter’s 9th birthday, we decided to take her to her first concert, Maroon 5. We figured out pretty quickly that she was not going to be one of those screaming, crying, star struck girls…
Not only did she not scream like a love struck little girl when she saw Adam or heard her favorite song… she made this comment…
“Those girls obviously are not here to hear the music, because they cannot hear any of it, because they are screaming so loud!”
Seriously, is she an 8-year-old girl or a grumpy old man?
I really had to work to even get her to sway a little to the music (which is funny, because I don’t dance). I hate to admit this, but she may be a little too much like me or her dad (who refused to raise his arms and sway to the music, even when Adam asked us to do it).
01 Monday Apr 2013
Posted in Adventures in Mommydom
Tags
easter, Easter Bunny, Furby, holiday, holidays, humor, traditions
Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter (because it is still technically Easter in my part of the world)! Of course, if you don’t celebrate Easter then I hope you had a great Sunday (and/or Walking Dead finale day)! I don’t want to leave anyone out!
Our Sunday was a nice one, but not without our usual surprises. We were late to church (which is not a surprise), then somehow I messed up our reservations (again, not a surprise)… but just like everything in life, just because things did not turn out as planned, it did not mean that the day was ruined. Although, it did get a little iffy there when my husband‘s blood pressure began to rise.
There was a restaurant nearby, Conch Republic Rocketts, that was able to give us a table immediately. We had a really wonderful brunch with really tasty food! By the way, they had real Key Lime Pie! My favorite! The kids loved there baskets from the easter bunny (even though that stupid rabbit forgot the batteries for the Furby) and their grandparents (which included a real pineapple and deviled eggs and matching quilted placemats). After we got home, it was time to be lazy and I loved it!
Another wonderful family holiday is over and I am enjoying the peace… until the dentist appointments tomorrow. I am thinking I will need another piece of that Key Lime Pie after their appointments.
28 Thursday Mar 2013
Posted in Adventures in Mommydom
Tags
Adolescence, boy trouble, humor, Minecraft, mommydom, Parent, parenting
Image found on memegenerator.com
Today, I got my first taste of what it may be like when my daughter hits the tween/teen years.
The Girl: [crying] I don’t want “The Boy Next Door” to come over anymore.
Me: Why?
The Girl: He told “The Other Boy” that I liked him. [melodramatic pause] He (Other Boy) came up to me and asked me if I liked him because “The Boy Next Door” told him I did.
Me: Well, then you all you had to say was ‘Yeah, I like you. You’re a great friend.’
The Girl: Moooom! That is not the point. [stomps foot] You just don’t understand. “Boy Next Door” should not have said I liked him. He lied.
Me: No, he did not lie. You do like him, don’t you?
The Girl: Yeah, as a friend.
Me: Then, that is what you say.
The Girl: Well, that is not what he meant. He (the Boy Next Door) should just not come over anymore if he is going to say stuff about me to people.
Me: Well, that is probably not going to happen so I would just stick the friend thing. It will be fine. Kids your age don’t have good memories unless it has to do with something your parents were supposed to do for you. Want a piece of candy?
The Girl: Yeah. [then leaves to play Minecraft and forgets about it… For now]
Hopefully, the candy redirection/bribery thing will work just as well when she gets older.
26 Tuesday Mar 2013
Posted in Because Domestic Goddesses Read
Tags
Adelice, Arras, Blog of the Erised, books, Crewel, Crewel World, Dystopia, Gennifer Albin, goodreads, reading, Threads
I joined the Dystopia Reading Challenge, hosted by Blog of the Erised, almost a month ago and I had yet to post a review for this challenge. OK, it was not for lack of trying. I read two books in the past month that I thought would work, but then I was unsure about whether they truly fit and so I decided to not post them. Who knows, maybe I should have… but alas it is too late now.
So I tried really hard to find a book that would fit so that I could at least get a book review posted. The book I chose was Crewel (Crewel World #1, by Gennifer Albin. I will warn you that there are spoilers. I tried to write the review without spoilers and it seriously made my head hurt, because I found that I really did not have much to comment on without giving something away. If you want my review spoiler-free check out my Goodreads review.
Image from Goodreads.com
The Basic Premise
Well, the basic premise is that the world of Arras is basically made up of threads of matter and time. It is like a work of Crewel (if you are like me and did not know what that was… see picture below).
My first crewel (Photo credit: futurowoman)
The world is ruled by a guild of 12, all men, who keep peace through providing all the people with food, jobs, families, and safety through manipulating those threads through the use of “spinsters”. Spinsters are women who can see the threads (of time and matter) and use a loom to adjust the world by adding natural elements into the landscape, removing the weak or maladjusted people from the world, and creating weather. Since the world is created and not natural, the weather patterns and reproduction are created, then consequently life very predictable and heavily controlled.
What I Liked
I liked the main character, Adelice, and Jost. I especially liked when Jost shared a bit about his past and I liked Adelice’s chemistry with him. She had spunk and tenacity. She is kind of nieve, but that does not make her all that trusting which I found to be an interesting quality. As much as I liked Adelice, I found that she also could be a bit whiny and self-absorbed. She just seemed to be stuck sometimes and could not see the forest through the trees, unless she was hit on the head with something or some idea by another character. In the end, I could not help, but root for this pair and hope that they could find a way to be together.
I also found the concept, their world, kind of interesting. The world as a piece of tapestry, huh? Although I could see that this concept could be a little hard for some people to find believable. In fact, I really struggled with trying to envision the world which was above the earth in a sky, but maybe visible, and maybe in another dimension. The mining from below and falling through the darkness made it challenging to visualize the world that was created.
What I Did Not Like
Honestly, I really did not get the rules to their world. If it is supposed to be a league of 12 nations then how did they all decide to make the world so male dominated. Was there not a single woman world leader in the future or am I to believe that the women leaders were the ones that were left on earth fighting until the death? Did they just pull the women leaders with the help of the spinsters? Seriously, why did the spinsters not realize that they had a lot of power in their hands until Adelice got there? Couldn’t a renegade spinster or even Loricel just pull the threads of the male leaders?
Kamla Persad-Bissessar Signing a Joint Statement on Advancing Women’s Political Participation (Photo credit: UN Women Gallery)
Pryana’s reaction to having her sister and her sister’s school obliterated was a bit of an overreaction as well. I get that she was mad at her for not following the instruction and for what happened after, but really she did not blame Maela for what happened at all. It seemed a bit far-fetched that she could not see how the punishment did not fit the crime and did not blame Maela at all. I find it hard to believe that this girl was so clueless that she could not see herself being played?
Another thing that I did not get was how Jost and Erik managed to get into the compound and stay in the compound, especially with Jost’s background. They have all this technology and yet they don’t do simple background checks?
It did not seem to fit with the whole the government knows everything vibe that was going on throughout the book.
One Word to Describe the Book
Coalescence
Final Thoughts
I liked it. I did not love it though. It is a series and so the question is… will I go on to read the next book? I am thinking I will. I do want to see what happens next. I will say that the sequel has the makings to be pretty interesting and hopefully answer some questions about what happened to the earth. I am wondering if we will get to meet all those women world leaders that were left behind.
Dystopia Reading Challenge: 1/6
23 Saturday Mar 2013
Posted in Adventures in Mommydom
I thought I would share my evil plan to ruin my daughter‘s life….
Yes…. I am that evil. Bad news is that I have only just begun. [Insert Evil laugh here]
19 Tuesday Mar 2013
I recently read the post What’s So “Pinteresting”? on the blog, Shout Out
JMU (your source for feminine discourse). She had a great response to the critic. What she says at the end of her post is perfect.
So before we disparage Pinterest for putting feminism at risk, can we please remember that feminine is not anti-feminist, and at the end of the day, it’s just a pinboard?
Yes, it is just a pinboard.
What the article on Buzzfeed (the one that Shout Out JMU is referring to) is missing is that not everyone is a feminist (because it is true) and that not all feminists are alike (as Shout Out JMU nicely points out).
Woman-power symbol (clenched fist in Venus sign). עברית: כוח נשים (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I think that we should embrace our feminism because let’s face it… we do have different body parts and (like it or not) we do have a different biological role, and by that I mean we have the babies not our role as a nurturer. Instead of making women feel bad about not being feminist enough, support a sister for the challenges that they are facing and overcoming each day and then help them to be the change that we, women, will want to make (because as much as the world has changed, but there are still changes to be made).
Furthermore, I have heard criticism about wanting to stay at home and how that will cause the feminist movement to go backward. Odell kind of hints at this with her “Mormon housewife” comment. The way I see it, being a stay-at-home mom who wants to care for their family is not anti-feminist… it is a decision that I made (which I think is now kind of against the mainstream) because I chose to. I had that choice because of feminism and, personally, I appreciated having the choice. I would guess that a lot of the women appreciate the choices that they have now that were given to them thanks to the feminist movement in the past.
Yet, here is my question to her question… Does she think that the diet and skinny body stuff is going to go away or, at least, that women in general are not going to be interested in that kind of material? If she does, then she is dreaming. I say this because a lot of my friends who are into eating healthy, exercising, and designer clothes do it because they like it. They are not doing it because their husbands will divorce them if they are not a size 0. I am not saying that society has a part in it, but society or not, my friends exercise and eat healthy because they want to and seem to enjoy it (although I don’t share the fondness of exercise that they do). There will always be plenty of girls and women that have body image issues and men/boys that will try make the girls they “supposedly” love feel bad about weight or what they look like too, but that is why I think it is best to support other women to be strong enough to see that they are enough when they are just being themselves and if the one they love does not see it… then it is time to move on.
With that said, I will give myself a pat on the back for doing my part to fill Pinterest pinboards with pins that are exercise and dream body free…and I know she would like to thank me for it. Rest assured that the Cauliflower Crust Pizza will never show up on my “yumminess” board.
And now a little something from my pinboards…
via What’s So “Pinteresting”?.
04 Monday Mar 2013
Tags
Arts, Ballet, Companies, Dance, field trip, Modern, Modern dance, Performing arts, United States
I joined my daughter on her field trip to see a a dancing showcase at a local college. The dancers did a really good job and I enjoyed it for all the wrong reasons.
Deutsch: Modern Dance Company “Flatback and cry e.V.” Produktion: “patchwork on stage”. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
What I realized is that I just do not understand the whole modern dance thing. I can understand the whole draw to ballet (although I personally would rather have my eyes gouged out than watch it). Tap dancing is kind of fun to watch. I have to admit I have seen quite a few Dancing with the Stars episodes, and so I guess I have to admit that ballroom dancing can be fun to watch. Modern dance… It seemed like a whole lot of arm waving, running, and laying on the ground.
With that said, the production was visually beautiful at times. At other times, my mental commentary was just too distracting to be moved by the dance. For instance, during one dance, I kept narrating the action in my head so that I saw a story of a guy trying to tie his shoe and the girl trying to keep him from tying it.
Another dance just screamed “Ode to Menstruation” to me. It featured a dancer in a white dress with red detailing who looked pained as she wrestled with a big red cloth. I really do hope that was not what the dance was about, and I have a sneaky feeling that it had a much deeper meaning (which I obviously did not see). My daughter thought the dance was about a strange vampire which was probably what it was about.
I am sure some of you are reading this and are thinking she is really brave for sharing how uncouth and uncultured she is. I just hope that this confession will help someone else who finds themselves at a modern dance production and is thinking “What are they doing?” I don’t want them to feel like they are the only one that does not get it. It is a public service I am willing to give.
I thought I would share this video, just in case you are reading this and have not been exposed to modern dance (like me before going on this field trip). This is not the production I saw, but it will give you an idea of what I am talking about.
You can see why I was so impressed by how the dancers could run, do push ups, roll around on the ground, and impersonate seizures so gracefully. Grace has never been my middle name. It also reminded me why I never made it through a year of ballet as a child. That kind of grace is inherited and I did not get any of it!
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