February 2012
1 post
Just So.: Among the most contested provisions of... →
Among the most contested provisions of the bill is the section that would exempt a doctor from a medical malpractice suit if a woman claims the physician withheld information about potential birth defects to prevent her from having an abortion. In addition, a woman would not be able to sue if…
January 2012
2 posts
Obligatory New Year Post
It’s ridiculous what changes one year can bring. It’s really only 1/28th of my life… But in 2011, I got separated, divorced, moved twice, bought a house all by myself, stepped away from my job and my career, went back to graduate school, began navigating single parenthood and co-parenting, and started dating for the first time in five years. I really can’t tell you which of...
December 2011
3 posts
'Friendly' Advice
I got a request for “a chat” last night, a request that I knew was coming. A friend of mine is going through some really messed up times in her marriage, and of course, I was the first person she thought of (?). I get wanting to talk to someone who’s been there, and I certainly have (though being the resident expert on failed marriages isn’t how I pictured myself at 28),...
“Indeed, Miss Manners has come to believe that the basic political division in...”
– Judith Perlman Martin (Wellesley class of 1959), Miss Manners Rescues Civilization (via wellesleymag)
Identity
Through a series of facebook messages and texts on Sunday night, my Best and I hashed out exactly what it means to be a stay-at-home mom (even part-time, which is the position I seem to have fallen into), and how others view us. I would simply post the conversation, but it would have to be more redacted than most war documents. The conclusion was this: We are completely over-the-top mothers. And...
November 2011
4 posts
lizbartemes asked: If you could live anywhere where would it be and why?
Put Something in My Ask Hole!
I have been researching and regurgitating for many moons, with far too little creative outlet. Please do ask away… Honesty is nearly guaranteed!
I like to pretend that I’m a better parent than some others out there; this much is obvious. However, I know that there are different parenting styles and people have different values, blah blah blah… Sometimes, though, I’m still amazed at the lack of common sense shown by those raising our youth.
I went to the Reba concert at Intrust Arena the other night, and it was a very...
Please remember the distinct lack of whining and complaining that I did all through the horrid summer months, where temperatures topped 100 for a record number of days and I wilted like a flower. I’m asking you to do this so that you may tolerate me through the next few months of winter. Because really? Eff this noise.
October 2011
4 posts
Sob
No, YOU spent half an hour this morning on your hands and knees at your parents’ house looking for a lost diamond earring, not because of the diamond in it but because of the questionable sentimental value of the damn thing. YOU only lost it because YOU had stored it in a plastic baggie with Disney Princesses on it since the “fire” as we like to call it, and your daughter thought...
“Here’s what I think of women: I think they should be able to make their own life...”
– Congressman Mike Quigley, on the floor during the HR 358 “Protect Life” Act debate (via itsmorgan)
Day Off
Look, kids, here’s the deal. I get one day to look a total mess. (Shut up, asshats, I do try most of the time.) I’m about to leave the house to run some errands (against my best laid plans and utmost desires) looking just as I damn well please. So when we encounter each other in a random bank, shop, or convenience store, feel free to simply pretend you don’t know me and walk...
Judgmental Disparity
I think I leave myself pretty open for judgment most of the time. If I’m not giving you plenty to work with, you’re just not trying hard enough. Not that anyone has the right to judge another, really, but it exists, and I’m not immune. There is one judgment, however, that I get repeatedly, and it absolutely flabbergasts me, and thus, here we are.
I’m a single mom. ...
September 2011
6 posts
Princess: Mama, can we get Gummi Bears?
Me: (Thinking…) Sure!
Princess: Can I carry them?
Me: Ok, but don’t open them.
Princess: Can I have some in the car?
Me: No, not until we get home.
Princess: Why?
Me: Because I’m going to bribe you with them later.
Three other mothers in the grocery aisle: Speechless.
Whatever. I’m honest with my kid. And I get stuff done.
I have a hole in my soul the likes of which words cannot explain. I know that many, many people are suffering this morning in ways that I cannot grasp, and that I am blessed beyond belief; please understand that I never discount the ways in which I am continuously granted love, joy, and grace. However, this morning, I hurt.
I’ve been without my sweet precious girl for four days now, and...
I’m choosing to believe that my daughter’s new habit of waking me up at 4:00 AM every single day is her effort to ensure that I have plenty of time to do all of my homework. She is awfully kind about it and gives me kisses before she goes back to sleep, leaving me in peace and quiet. This would all be fine if she would also shove over and let me share her cot at preschool for...
2 tags
“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.”
– Aibileen to Mae Mobley in The Help
Something every little girl should be told and every grown woman should remind herself.
(via sheasylvia)
August 2011
15 posts
I Gotta Be Me
To briefly update you on the happenings re: Operation Get My Ass Into Grad School, things are going swingingly. I love my classes, my internship could not rock harder, and I love where I’m at right now. I had one more exciting venture to embark upon on Friday, which was another research venture with The Power That Is in the Clinical Dept. at the university.
So let’s talk about...
I’m having a very hard time with this news story today, as I know many people are. I think I take a slightly different approach, however. It’s almost a PSA for the worst people to ever exist, but it’s all I can think about this tragedy.
Listen, asshole: Kill yourself first. For every story that ends in, “The gunman then turned the gun on himself,” I just want to...
An open letter to other parents;
We’re all busy. We all need a break. We all think we’re kind of a big deal. But you know who’s a really big deal? Your freakin’ kid. So if you’re the kind of complete douchebag who can’t put down their phone and put their text/facebook/twitter/Angry Birds on hold to watch your child on a piece of playground equipment, shame on...
No boobsweat bucks accepted? Boo... →
The faucet on my daughter’s bathtub is broken, resulting in only scalding-hot water being delivered for her bath. I’ve heard that’s bad for a kid, so until it gets fixed, I’m making her take showers with me. She hates it. Out loud, I’m all, “I get it, honey, it’s ok, we’ll be quick, you’re almost done…” But inside, I’m...
Because I’m a classy Mama, I have some artwork in my kitchen. It’s kind of a statement piece. It’s rectangular in shape, and is designed to resemble a mat with a slight bamboo weave pattern, layered to provide a cushioned appearance. I’ve placed this in front of my oven, where I believe it says to observers, “The person who resides here spends so much time cooking...
Oh, update - I did not word vomit all over my sweet, sweet shoes in my meeting with Dr. God-of-all-Things-Psychology the other day. Instead, as others read the situation (and I cannot humbly deny) I think I kind of impressed the man. Here’s how things went down:
Basically, this big-deal professor contacted me and told me I shouldn’t be taking his class because I wasn’t ready. ...
Buddy Walk
On October 8, I will be walking in the Buddy Walk on the beautiful Heartspring Campus to support an amazing highschool friend and his wife, whose son is absolutely flourishing despite a diagnosis of Down’s Syndrome. I have never met more fierce proponents for their child; I am continually impressed and inspired by Brandon and Renee, and this is my small chance to help them stand for Trey in...
I have an impromptu meeting with one of the university’s clinical program’s powers-that-be in just a little while. So, of course, I am freaking out. That’s how I’m preparing. All that talk about persistence and focus and all that crap? Out the window. Now? Freaking out. Awesome. This will be the point where I word-vomit all over myself about how this is my...
One of my friends just got his “license” or whatever it takes to be a personal trainer. He got hired by a reputable gym, he’s making legitimate money, we’re all really proud, blah blah blah…
Point is, I don’t have “reputable gym” type money. I’m seriously thinking about proposing that I buy him a case of beer and letting him sit on my couch...
“Imagine a libertarian Christianity, which urged individuals to give away as much...”
– Andrew Sullivan (via azspot)
Today’s achievement: destroying friendships and alienating people. Check.
I had some hard truth handed to me this morning, and I really appreciated it. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was honest and meant with my best interest in mind. And you know what? That really solidified my view that your best friends are those that will tell you exactly what is going on, even when you...
“Slow dance, second chance, Mama needs romance… And a live in maid. Fix the sink, mow the yard, really isn’t all that hard… If you get paid…”
I have such a great set-up for a single Mama. I really do. I have so much support from my family it’s obscene. But we’re a family of three, and they’re not always here. And that’s great! I...
July 2011
10 posts
What I Want
There really is something freeing to figuring out what you want, even if you can’t have it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s utterly frustrating to know you can’t have what you want when you want it. (Patience? Not one of my virtues. Not that I have a ton of virtues anyway, but that’s certainly not on my list.)
And in this particular case, all of the persistence in the...
Perservere, Damnit.
I talked some big talk about perseverance a little earlier, and it looks like it will be good to look back on that entry for guidance, strength, and proof that I am actually going to do this. The forces that be might have read that little piece, too, because they’re sure having fun with me!
First, the GRE basically made me its bitch. The English and writing parts? Nailed them. Well, to...
MeredithBklyn: This is a Big Fucking Deal →
peacelovewine:
joyengel:
Virtually all health insurance plans could soon be required to offer female patients free coverage of prescription birth control, breast-pump rentals, counseling for domestic violence, and annual wellness exams and HIV tests as a result of recommendations released Tuesday by an…
Yes.
This.
I'm Judging You
I am possibly the least judgmental person I know. I take tolerant to an extreme. Except, perhaps, that I judge those that are overly judgmental… In which case I’m a giant hypocrite, but I’ll live with that one.
I have one giant caveat, however: If you have a big Confederate flag on your jacked up truck, I’m judging you. In my mind, you are automatically the biggest...
Askhole!
Yay! My first question was put in my ask hole! I feel so privileged, even though I didn’t directly answer… I promise to be more forthcoming, if you keep ‘em coming!
Anonymous asked: What's the name of your school?
Longevity
I was just watching the Today show (because that’s where I get my hard-hitting news) and saw a piece on a study regarding longevity. Rather, a study that showed what behaviors and characteristics were positively or negatively correlated with longevity. Here’s what I gathered:
These super-old folks had amazing personal relationships, ridiculously healthy lifestyles, tended to be kind...
“You can tell more about a person by what they say about others than what others say about them.”
For real, though! Now, I’m not going to lie. I used to be one gossipy little Bee… I got caught up in the small-town drama just like everyone else. I’m not proud of it, and I’m trying to stop. Really, I am. But this is about more than that.
What do you say...
I’m still studying. Insanely. And by insanely, I mean perhaps to an extent which may have thrown me a bit over the edge, mentally. I’ve tried to pepper my studying with random other ventures to save my sanity, but I’m not sure that’s worked. I just cleaned out my daughter’s kiddie pool with the Dyson I use in my house. I’m actually watching The Doctors...
June 2011
6 posts
Perhaps this whole “getting into a prestigious PhD program” thing is going to be a little trickier than previously planned. I mean, I wasn’t counting on just showing up and getting in on my good looks or anything (although it worked for the chick on “Legally Blonde”, but I didn’t think it would be trial by fire and then some Jeopardy Champions thrown in for...
A coworker was talking about sports or...
inthemeantime:
dakotamiller:
Coworker: What he did was so gay!
Me: What did you say?
Everyone around us:
Coworker: I didn’t mean it like that! I meant “gay” as in “stupid”.
Me:
Seriously people*. Using “gay” as an insulting term MAKES YOU LOOK STUPID. When otherwise intelligent people use the word that way, it makes them look even stupider. Quit doing that.
*not any of you...
The best laid plans...
Let’s play catch-up, shall we? I know, it’s been too long… Well, for me - I’ve been saving up snark to a point where bitchiness has now began to ooze from my pores. It’s unhealthy. I’m assuming it’s less than fun for those around me, too, so I’m making an effort. But the bottom line is that I don’t have to pull any punches anymore, so here...
