I'm a gun nut.
Not the wife of a gun nut. Not the involved wife of a gun nut who has her own collection and attends all the shooting events with the guys.
Nope.
I'm sitting here waiting for The Other Boleyn Girl to download, and what am I watching on the TiVo?
Shooter.
Oh yeah, I'm a gun nut.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
So Chris is off at a concert...
and I'm home alone with the kids.
And I love it.
I don't get to spend nights alone very often. Chris and I have one of those rare, "I can handle you 24-7" relationships and both of us spend 99% of our prime-time hours at home or out together. When we rarely go out separately, usually its because he's attending a sports event / heavy metal concert / other event I have no interest in or because I'm out attending some kind of women's night out.
So when one of those rare nights alone comes to pass, I seize the moment.
Chick flick? Check.
Food Chris can't stand? Check.
Chocolate? Check.
I should be good for another 6 months or so.
And I love it.
I don't get to spend nights alone very often. Chris and I have one of those rare, "I can handle you 24-7" relationships and both of us spend 99% of our prime-time hours at home or out together. When we rarely go out separately, usually its because he's attending a sports event / heavy metal concert / other event I have no interest in or because I'm out attending some kind of women's night out.
So when one of those rare nights alone comes to pass, I seize the moment.
Chick flick? Check.
Food Chris can't stand? Check.
Chocolate? Check.
I should be good for another 6 months or so.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Stereotypes and Assumptions
I hate stereotypes. I hate them with a blinding passion.
Why? Because I don't fit them at ALL.
This is a common problem within the people I hang out with, just because we're all a little... odd.
I'm a stay-at-home mom. Does this make me Suzy Homemaker? Anyone who's been to our house knows better.
I don't work. Does that mean I couldn't make a decent income? Not at all.
I live in Scottsdale and my husband earns all the money. Do I wear designer clothes and spend all day at the spa gossiping? No, I have better things to do and considering that I spent yesterday elbow-deep in the smoker designer clothes would be stupid.
I like my guns. Am I a far-right nutcase? No. But I DO love putting holes in paper and making things explode.
I listen to country music, run a bbq, fry chicken, and make cornbread. Does this make me a Southern redneck? No, I listen to what I identify with (country is the only music still written for adults after all) and I love to cook comfort food. I also make a mean creme brulee.
We send the kids to a private Catholic school. Are we elitist snobs or ultra keep-all-things-secular-away religious? No.
If you knew only ONE of these aspects of my life, what would you think of me and expect of me? What would you assume based on one little detail?
I'm lucky that I grew up in AZ, where there's relatively little real racism. When I see people I only make assumptions based upon how they present themselves. But I'm still guilty of making assumptions. And, let's face it, stereotypes exist for a reason. In most of our interactions with strangers we don't have the time to get to know the other person. Add in the old media and their portrayals of certain groups, and its hard to avoid making a few assumptions.
But just because I may be singing along with "Boondocks" at the top of my lungs in my Expedition doesn't mean that's not a Brighton Collectibles purse next to me, or that I'm not headed to pick up my fresh-roasted single-source coffee beans in Tempe. Or that I won't be stopping at BevMo on the way home for a couple of microbrews for Chris, or headed to the school to pick up the kids from their private school like all the other stay-at-home moms PV, Arcadia, and Scottsdale.
On the other side, just because I may be chatting on my iPhone in Scottsdale Fashion Square while shopping for a nice pair of heels doesn't mean that when I get home I won't get into my scrungy clothes and give our Rottweiler/Pit Bull puppy a bath or head to range for some shooty goodness.
Assumptions are occasionally useful. Just don't be afraid to throw them all away.
Why? Because I don't fit them at ALL.
This is a common problem within the people I hang out with, just because we're all a little... odd.
I'm a stay-at-home mom. Does this make me Suzy Homemaker? Anyone who's been to our house knows better.
I don't work. Does that mean I couldn't make a decent income? Not at all.
I live in Scottsdale and my husband earns all the money. Do I wear designer clothes and spend all day at the spa gossiping? No, I have better things to do and considering that I spent yesterday elbow-deep in the smoker designer clothes would be stupid.
I like my guns. Am I a far-right nutcase? No. But I DO love putting holes in paper and making things explode.
I listen to country music, run a bbq, fry chicken, and make cornbread. Does this make me a Southern redneck? No, I listen to what I identify with (country is the only music still written for adults after all) and I love to cook comfort food. I also make a mean creme brulee.
We send the kids to a private Catholic school. Are we elitist snobs or ultra keep-all-things-secular-away religious? No.
If you knew only ONE of these aspects of my life, what would you think of me and expect of me? What would you assume based on one little detail?
I'm lucky that I grew up in AZ, where there's relatively little real racism. When I see people I only make assumptions based upon how they present themselves. But I'm still guilty of making assumptions. And, let's face it, stereotypes exist for a reason. In most of our interactions with strangers we don't have the time to get to know the other person. Add in the old media and their portrayals of certain groups, and its hard to avoid making a few assumptions.
But just because I may be singing along with "Boondocks" at the top of my lungs in my Expedition doesn't mean that's not a Brighton Collectibles purse next to me, or that I'm not headed to pick up my fresh-roasted single-source coffee beans in Tempe. Or that I won't be stopping at BevMo on the way home for a couple of microbrews for Chris, or headed to the school to pick up the kids from their private school like all the other stay-at-home moms PV, Arcadia, and Scottsdale.
On the other side, just because I may be chatting on my iPhone in Scottsdale Fashion Square while shopping for a nice pair of heels doesn't mean that when I get home I won't get into my scrungy clothes and give our Rottweiler/Pit Bull puppy a bath or head to range for some shooty goodness.
Assumptions are occasionally useful. Just don't be afraid to throw them all away.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Mother******
Food has gotten expensive.
Thus far we've been pretty well insulated from the rising food prices. We buy almost everything from Costco where the prices have been relatively stable everywhere but the meat section. However, I avoid buying bread, milk, and popscicles at Costco because of the size of the packages and the fact that we will NOT make our way through the dairy or baked goods before they go bad.
So this morning I made my weekly visit to Safeway for the items that we either buy in smaller quantities or go bad fairly quickly.
This week Safeway is having a massive meat sale, including the household favorite, NY strip steak (boneless of course). At just under $6/lb, that's over $3 less than COSTCO is charging at the moment. So I pick up a family pack of strip steak and a family pack of round steak ($2/lb right now) and added the meat to the usual order.
The usual order ends up being $40. This time I paid $90. $40 of that excess belonged to the beef.
That's only 5 meals worth of beef. WTF?
On top of the beef increase, the price of milk has risen 50%, ice cream 25%, and chicken and pork 25%, and soda 50%. What do all of these items have in common?
Corn.
Whose bright idea was it to turn a food crop into a fuel crop? Who thought increasing the market for corn would NOT have an effect on the price?
Oh, and as a bonus since more farmers are cashing in on corn, less wheat is being planted, so now WHEAT is more expensive as well. Bread prices have risen 50% around here.
So how is ethanol going to save all of us again? By making food prices so high that no one can afford to eat?
Why can't we develop alternative fuels from sources we don't need in order to live? Why can't we make ethanol from sugar, or from grass clippings? Why can't we choose an alternative fuel base that won't transfer the high cost of gas to a high cost of food ( not that the price of gas is exactly falling due to ethanol either)? We have the smartest scientists in the world and this is what we come up with?
Thus far we've been pretty well insulated from the rising food prices. We buy almost everything from Costco where the prices have been relatively stable everywhere but the meat section. However, I avoid buying bread, milk, and popscicles at Costco because of the size of the packages and the fact that we will NOT make our way through the dairy or baked goods before they go bad.
So this morning I made my weekly visit to Safeway for the items that we either buy in smaller quantities or go bad fairly quickly.
This week Safeway is having a massive meat sale, including the household favorite, NY strip steak (boneless of course). At just under $6/lb, that's over $3 less than COSTCO is charging at the moment. So I pick up a family pack of strip steak and a family pack of round steak ($2/lb right now) and added the meat to the usual order.
The usual order ends up being $40. This time I paid $90. $40 of that excess belonged to the beef.
That's only 5 meals worth of beef. WTF?
On top of the beef increase, the price of milk has risen 50%, ice cream 25%, and chicken and pork 25%, and soda 50%. What do all of these items have in common?
Corn.
Whose bright idea was it to turn a food crop into a fuel crop? Who thought increasing the market for corn would NOT have an effect on the price?
Oh, and as a bonus since more farmers are cashing in on corn, less wheat is being planted, so now WHEAT is more expensive as well. Bread prices have risen 50% around here.
So how is ethanol going to save all of us again? By making food prices so high that no one can afford to eat?
Why can't we develop alternative fuels from sources we don't need in order to live? Why can't we make ethanol from sugar, or from grass clippings? Why can't we choose an alternative fuel base that won't transfer the high cost of gas to a high cost of food ( not that the price of gas is exactly falling due to ethanol either)? We have the smartest scientists in the world and this is what we come up with?
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Wednesdays
Tonight is testosterone night, aka Wednesday.
Wednesday night is the traditional night chosen for the express purpose of getting all of the friends together for dinner and whatever, usually Smash Lab, Mythbusters, and Master Blasters. The food is male, the entertainment is male, and the participants are male. Well, all except me.
I feel the distinct need to grab some mommy friends and head to Applebees for some margaritas.
It's not that I don't like Wednesdays, I do. But for the past few months the need for something more... feminine has been pressing upon me.
So I'm in the bedroom watching the A&E Romance Collection, specifically Victoria and Albert.
I'm tired. I'm tired of being one of the guys, of living in t-shirts in jeans, of following mostly male pursuits. I need to feel like a woman every now and then.
Next week I will make better arrangements.
Wednesday night is the traditional night chosen for the express purpose of getting all of the friends together for dinner and whatever, usually Smash Lab, Mythbusters, and Master Blasters. The food is male, the entertainment is male, and the participants are male. Well, all except me.
I feel the distinct need to grab some mommy friends and head to Applebees for some margaritas.
It's not that I don't like Wednesdays, I do. But for the past few months the need for something more... feminine has been pressing upon me.
So I'm in the bedroom watching the A&E Romance Collection, specifically Victoria and Albert.
I'm tired. I'm tired of being one of the guys, of living in t-shirts in jeans, of following mostly male pursuits. I need to feel like a woman every now and then.
Next week I will make better arrangements.
Why?
Why start a new, markedly open blog?
Because much of what occupies my thoughts doesn't play as well to the audience at the other blog. I want to write about life, domesticity, motherhood, and the trillion details which make up that existence.
Because much of what occupies my thoughts doesn't play as well to the audience at the other blog. I want to write about life, domesticity, motherhood, and the trillion details which make up that existence.
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