Isn't "abnormal" really "normal" now?
This is what I thought to myself while reading an article that Vee sent me via email that applauded the "nonconformist" nature of this 43 year old woman's 11 year old daughter. You know, because said daughter thinks this pale dude from a 1984 sitcom is hot! HOW WEIRD! And she don't wear Uggs! She likes her frog-faced rain boots! ECLECTIC, AND INDIVIDUAL!
I don't mean to dog this woman's daughter--really, my problem is with HER MOM! She should know better!
The author of the article is 43. That means she's solidly part of Gen X, the generation that DEFINED THEMSELVES AGAINST "NORMALITY" and made it NORMAL TO BE "ABNORMAL."
But here she is, trotting herself out as "yep, I'm still a weird and quirky mom with weird and quirky kids!" UNABLE TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS WEIRD OR QUIRKY ANY MORE! Weird and/or quirky is CONSIDERED NORMAL!
I was in seventh grade (and I don't know if it was just 1994, or if this is what happens to everyone in middle school) when it suddenly became REALLY COOL to JUST BE YOURSELF! "Being yourself" was defined as "having a bunch of weird tastes, like being obsessed with Snoopy or wearing scraggy corduroys from Goodwill or being really, really into Egyptology" and it became A RACE to claim "weird" attributes or interests as "who you really are."
DOES ANYONE ELSE REMEMBER THIS, or did I experience this alone?
ANYWAY, I think we can still all agree that our generation (Gen X/Gen Y) PRETTY MUCH ACCEPTS "WEIRDNESS" IN EVERYONE and, therefore, I don't really see a reason to applaud "difference" as something REALLY EXCEPTIONAL AND REALLY DIFFICULT TO DO among today's youth.
NOT THAT I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD "CONFORM" or not receive praise for being comfortable with who they are. It's just not that big of an accomplishment as it was for, say, our parents.
Furthermore, I don't like the way this author defines "conformity" by contrasting her daughter with the Uggs-wearing clones she sees out and about. WHY IS IT CONFORMITY IF IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT'S POPULAR? The author is so quick to point out "hey, my daughter likes 'Twilight' too!" YET DOES NOT DEFINE THIS AS CONFORMITY. Why is liking something popular NOT conformity when it's a book, but when it comes to clothing, OH HELL, IT'S CONFORMIST!
It just strikes me with the same shades of ridiculousness as my teenage boyfriend and his best friend continuously asking me and my best friend, "Are we weird enough for you yet?"
When you define yourself by your "weirdness," YOU'RE NOT REALLY THAT WEIRD!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Hipster Hire Hits on Helpless Hmwom
So the Kiddo had a rowdy waking night last night, and it left Vee and I exhausted. And of all days! It was 48 and sunny today, the last vestiges of spring on the horizon before we get smacked in the face with 6+ inches of snow tomorrow!
Vee came home early and we declared it "early weekend"--he stayed home with Kiddokabiddo while I went out a-thrifting (really, looking for ANY EXCUSE TO BE OUT OF THE HOUSE ALONE).
My first stop was this great thrift store called ThriftAmerica. I got 5 books for 44 cents apiece, which is the primary reason I love going to there. I can always spend $0.44 on a copy of "The Nanny Diaries!" I also love ThriftAmerica because it is NOT PART OF A THRIFT STORE CONGLOMERATE, which means they don't have those sneaky-ass kids screening the bags of stuff as they get dropped off so the "quality items" (also known as "ironic" or "adorably vintage") can get marked up.
Do you know how much I hate that? THE WHOLE POINT OF THRIFT STORES IS SO THAT POOR PEOPLE CAN BUY QUALITY ITEMS AT A REASONABLE PRICE! The second whole point of thrift stores is so that YOU CAN GET SOMETHING AWESOME FOR A RIDICULOUSLY LOW PRICE! If I wanted to pay antique store prices for an old canister set saying "flour," "sugar," and "tea," I WOULD GO TO AN ANTIQUE STORE!
You think my "sneaky-ass kids" thing is a paranoid lie, but the hipster teen who used to live in the apartment across from Vee and I back when we first lived here WORKED AT A GOODWILL. Do you SERIOUSLY think he got the job because of his work ethic, or BECAUSE, SINCE HE LOOKED LIKE CONOR OBERST (no, really: he actually did get mistaken for Obie often), THE GOODWILL MANAGER DECIDED HE WOULD KNOW HOW TO DESIGNATE ITEMS THAT HIPSTERS WOULD OVERPAY FOR?
Anyway! Locally owned thrift stores! Only way to go!
So when I was done at ThriftAmerica, I shamefully slunk across the street to (yep) Goodwill. Just to give it another look! I renounced this Goodwill back in November when I brought four bags of TOTALLY AWESOME AND USABLE STUFF to the drop-off spot and this 20-something who hated me for driving a Camry REFUSED TO MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH ME and MUTELY TOOK MY BAGS INSIDE. And did not come out! Didn't offer me the tax deduction form! Nothing!
But the cat came back, three months later!
As expected, everything was overpriced and I overpaid for a copy of AM Homes' Music for Torching ($1.99! I could have gotten four books over at ThriftAmerica and still had $0.23 towards my bean burrito at Taco Bell!). BUT! The twenty-something working the register! Said "Are you into rock music? You look like you're into rock music."
BAZAAM!
I quizzically looked at the dude (mentally doing a recall of what I was wearing: a black CASHMERE zip-up hoodie from Old Navy, some jeans that totally make me look like a mom, and my bangs were doing a skanky split-down-the-middle since I needed to shower--BUT I WAS NOT WEARING MY BABY!) and said, "I can be..." (thinking to myself "When was the last time I was able to define 'rock music' as anything other than adult contemporary?")
DUDE DECIDED THIS WAS A PEAK TIME TO TELL ME HE'S IN A BAND! And said band is "playing at Saddle Creek tonight" and "you should check us out" and then fumbled through his wallet, giving me THE ONLY COPY OF HIS BAND'S BUSINESS CARD (!!! BUSINESS CARD !!!) and boasting that "we're going to be on the radio soon."
Which radio station? Unspecified.
Dude, pirate radio DOES NOT A "MAJOR LABEL BAND" make.
FURTHERMORE! As I got home and LOOKED UP (I know) the business-card-carrying band, DUDE DID NOT MENTION THAT IT IS A METAL BAND!
Is metal ROCK now?? More importantly, DO METAL DUDES USE BAND BUSINESS CARDS NOW?
I might sneak my first edition copies of Play It As It Lays by the sweet middle-aged woman at ThriftAmerica for 44 cents, but next time I need a reminder that I'm not too old to be band-picked-up, I know where I'm going!
Vee came home early and we declared it "early weekend"--he stayed home with Kiddokabiddo while I went out a-thrifting (really, looking for ANY EXCUSE TO BE OUT OF THE HOUSE ALONE).
My first stop was this great thrift store called ThriftAmerica. I got 5 books for 44 cents apiece, which is the primary reason I love going to there. I can always spend $0.44 on a copy of "The Nanny Diaries!" I also love ThriftAmerica because it is NOT PART OF A THRIFT STORE CONGLOMERATE, which means they don't have those sneaky-ass kids screening the bags of stuff as they get dropped off so the "quality items" (also known as "ironic" or "adorably vintage") can get marked up.
Do you know how much I hate that? THE WHOLE POINT OF THRIFT STORES IS SO THAT POOR PEOPLE CAN BUY QUALITY ITEMS AT A REASONABLE PRICE! The second whole point of thrift stores is so that YOU CAN GET SOMETHING AWESOME FOR A RIDICULOUSLY LOW PRICE! If I wanted to pay antique store prices for an old canister set saying "flour," "sugar," and "tea," I WOULD GO TO AN ANTIQUE STORE!
You think my "sneaky-ass kids" thing is a paranoid lie, but the hipster teen who used to live in the apartment across from Vee and I back when we first lived here WORKED AT A GOODWILL. Do you SERIOUSLY think he got the job because of his work ethic, or BECAUSE, SINCE HE LOOKED LIKE CONOR OBERST (no, really: he actually did get mistaken for Obie often), THE GOODWILL MANAGER DECIDED HE WOULD KNOW HOW TO DESIGNATE ITEMS THAT HIPSTERS WOULD OVERPAY FOR?
Anyway! Locally owned thrift stores! Only way to go!
So when I was done at ThriftAmerica, I shamefully slunk across the street to (yep) Goodwill. Just to give it another look! I renounced this Goodwill back in November when I brought four bags of TOTALLY AWESOME AND USABLE STUFF to the drop-off spot and this 20-something who hated me for driving a Camry REFUSED TO MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH ME and MUTELY TOOK MY BAGS INSIDE. And did not come out! Didn't offer me the tax deduction form! Nothing!
But the cat came back, three months later!
As expected, everything was overpriced and I overpaid for a copy of AM Homes' Music for Torching ($1.99! I could have gotten four books over at ThriftAmerica and still had $0.23 towards my bean burrito at Taco Bell!). BUT! The twenty-something working the register! Said "Are you into rock music? You look like you're into rock music."
BAZAAM!
I quizzically looked at the dude (mentally doing a recall of what I was wearing: a black CASHMERE zip-up hoodie from Old Navy, some jeans that totally make me look like a mom, and my bangs were doing a skanky split-down-the-middle since I needed to shower--BUT I WAS NOT WEARING MY BABY!) and said, "I can be..." (thinking to myself "When was the last time I was able to define 'rock music' as anything other than adult contemporary?")
DUDE DECIDED THIS WAS A PEAK TIME TO TELL ME HE'S IN A BAND! And said band is "playing at Saddle Creek tonight" and "you should check us out" and then fumbled through his wallet, giving me THE ONLY COPY OF HIS BAND'S BUSINESS CARD (!!! BUSINESS CARD !!!) and boasting that "we're going to be on the radio soon."
Which radio station? Unspecified.
Dude, pirate radio DOES NOT A "MAJOR LABEL BAND" make.
FURTHERMORE! As I got home and LOOKED UP (I know) the business-card-carrying band, DUDE DID NOT MENTION THAT IT IS A METAL BAND!
Is metal ROCK now?? More importantly, DO METAL DUDES USE BAND BUSINESS CARDS NOW?
I might sneak my first edition copies of Play It As It Lays by the sweet middle-aged woman at ThriftAmerica for 44 cents, but next time I need a reminder that I'm not too old to be band-picked-up, I know where I'm going!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
delights
It seems like half the blogs on my Google Reader are doing lists lately (and no, not just the addicting and why-didn't-I-think-of-this-amazing-blog-idea Secret Society of List Addicts). Maybe because it's February and we're all out of blog topics? Because we need things to pull us through the winter?
Anyway, here's my list of things that have been delighting me lately:
Anyway, here's my list of things that have been delighting me lately:
- The freshly-ground smell of coffee beans (even if it's at 10:30pm as Vee and I set up the coffee maker for the morning--I think it's the temptation of "what if I just pressed "ON" right now, knowing it would mess up my whole day" that is especially great)
- The curl on the top of my little girl's blonde (!) head
- SEEING MOMS THAT I KNOW OUT IN PUBLIC PLACES! You have no idea what a big deal this is for me--the first time we lived here, I probably recognized people MAYBE twice. In two years. And YET! Who knew all I had to do was ACTUALLY MEET PEOPLE and then I would recognize (and be recognized!) other women during my out-and-arout evenings?!
- Reading "on my long-time needs-to-be-read list" classics
- While also reading "by no means on any list I ever made, yet THOROUGHLY AWESOME" small-town-library selections
- Lemon Zest Luna bars
- Western sunsets
- "Somebody Remembers the Rose" by Whiskeytown (NEED TO FIND MY STUPID CD! I KEEP LISTENING TO MY OWN CHRISTMAS MIX AND NEED A BREAK FROM THIS ONE SONG)
How about you?
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Vitamin D
No one wants to weigh in on the bedroom set? Ok, dudes--bye bye tax refund, hello personal economic stimulus donation!
It has been another beautiful, sunny day here in the prairie West. My screen door is open, and Kiddokabiddo and I have been taking brief jaunts onto our porch to just sit and marvel at the weather. Plus she's getting her vitamin D!
As the early morning light rolled in, I announced to Vee that, while I will concede that I would get tired of all the hot weather and lack of 4 seasons if we lived somewhere like southern Arizona, I'm pretty sure that I would NEVER get tired of the constant sun.
I really don't have much for today. Vee is working late, and when he gets home, I will be heading out to pick up the following items:
- Cheerios (the Kiddokabiddo can apparently start eating these, which should be hilarious to watch)
- New sleepwear (the Kiddo is outgrowing her footie sleepers)
- Teething biscuits
- A humidifier (we murdered our last one by using our hard water; even though the directions SPECIFICALLY SAY to use distilled water and to clean it every other day, I thought THAT WAS JUST BEING RIDICULOUS. Fast forward to two nights ago when I opened the humidifier to add more water and found a gross orange film dried all around it, coupled with lime deposits. Sorry, Kiddo--hope you were breathing ok!)
- Distilled water.
Other tasks for the evening include:
- Washing towels
- Washing lights
- Dyeing my hair
Maybe I would be doing myself a disservice to live somewhere with constant sun after all if all I am going to do is to spend my time WALKING AROUND INSIDE BOX STORES SPENDING MONEY instead of getting my vitamin D.
Monday, February 9, 2009
shots and "cots"
Another late blog; long day.
I took the Kiddo to the doctor's office today for her first shots. It's true, you're reading this right: she's 8 months and getting her first shots.
"What about the CDC RECOMMENDATIONS, you child endangerer!"
I'm not going to get on a rant/defense about whether or not Jenny McCarthy's kid got autism from the MMR shot or whether herd immunity is vital to our well-being as a nation or whether unvaccinated kids should be segregated from everyone else to protect the vaccinated kids (this makes no sense to me; if the kids are vaccinated, HOW ARE THEY GOING TO GET SICK FROM SOMETHING AN UNVACCINATED CHILD "MIGHT" HAVE?). The point is: Vee and I decided not to vaccinate the Kiddo until now, and that's because we're going to be flying to the Vee Homeland at the end of the month, and we wanted her protected from the influenza variants that lead to meningitis.
So she got her HIB and Pc shots today, and my little trooper was just fine.
Until we got home, and Vee realized she was getting a second tooth. I think this one really hurts her, because she was fussy ALL NIGHT. "Fussy" isn't the right word for it--more like "petulant" because unless I was holding her, STANDING UP (this kid has a radar for the instant you sit down and starts screaming--WHY?! Her center of gravity is the EXACT SAME!). Which made it a little hard for me to get my evening work done.
Today was a rainy day, which was actually awesome since it rinsed away what was left of the snow, and all our bleached-out bare grass is belly up. CRAZY WIND TOO! I love living on the prairie, and I love our wind-whip, but I couldn't set the Kiddo's diaper bag on the trunk of the car without it BLOWING OVER when I was at the ped's today. SHEESH!
In other news, I got our TAX RETURNS DONE LAST NIGHT. Oh my effing GOD! The last two years, Vee and I have paid someone to do them because our "tax situation" was complicated. This year, after being advised otherwise by our financial advisor (who told us, straight up, that when clients ask him to do their returns, he feels bad taking money because he just plugs the numbers in TurboTax), I decided to tackle them on my own.
I used to ALWAYS do my taxes myself. I am not an econ person, but I know how to manage our budget, so I figured I CAN DO THIS!
And two state returns and one federal return later (interspersed with my cries of "WE ARE NOT PAYING MICHIGAN MORE TAXES! We only lived there for FOUR MONTHS THIS YEAR!" and then my sheepish glee when I realized I had forgotten to add an important number that wound up giving us a refund rather than owing), WE'RE DONE!
Relocating, having a bambina, and buying a house made us PRIME CANDIDATES FOR THE CASH, and we are getting such a huge refund, Vee and I decided we should go bougie-bedroom-set hunting. Mainly because OUR BED IS STILL ON THE FLOOR (not even a bed frame). It's shameful.
Here's the dank we're considering.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Bouge it up and get two of the tall dressers + the headboard/bed frame, or just get the bed frame and find "eclectic" dressers on our own time? Vee and I are split on this.
IS A BEDROOM SET TOO BOUGIE FOR US? (is THIS bedroom set bougie?)
I took the Kiddo to the doctor's office today for her first shots. It's true, you're reading this right: she's 8 months and getting her first shots.
"What about the CDC RECOMMENDATIONS, you child endangerer!"
I'm not going to get on a rant/defense about whether or not Jenny McCarthy's kid got autism from the MMR shot or whether herd immunity is vital to our well-being as a nation or whether unvaccinated kids should be segregated from everyone else to protect the vaccinated kids (this makes no sense to me; if the kids are vaccinated, HOW ARE THEY GOING TO GET SICK FROM SOMETHING AN UNVACCINATED CHILD "MIGHT" HAVE?). The point is: Vee and I decided not to vaccinate the Kiddo until now, and that's because we're going to be flying to the Vee Homeland at the end of the month, and we wanted her protected from the influenza variants that lead to meningitis.
So she got her HIB and Pc shots today, and my little trooper was just fine.
Until we got home, and Vee realized she was getting a second tooth. I think this one really hurts her, because she was fussy ALL NIGHT. "Fussy" isn't the right word for it--more like "petulant" because unless I was holding her, STANDING UP (this kid has a radar for the instant you sit down and starts screaming--WHY?! Her center of gravity is the EXACT SAME!). Which made it a little hard for me to get my evening work done.
Today was a rainy day, which was actually awesome since it rinsed away what was left of the snow, and all our bleached-out bare grass is belly up. CRAZY WIND TOO! I love living on the prairie, and I love our wind-whip, but I couldn't set the Kiddo's diaper bag on the trunk of the car without it BLOWING OVER when I was at the ped's today. SHEESH!
In other news, I got our TAX RETURNS DONE LAST NIGHT. Oh my effing GOD! The last two years, Vee and I have paid someone to do them because our "tax situation" was complicated. This year, after being advised otherwise by our financial advisor (who told us, straight up, that when clients ask him to do their returns, he feels bad taking money because he just plugs the numbers in TurboTax), I decided to tackle them on my own.
I used to ALWAYS do my taxes myself. I am not an econ person, but I know how to manage our budget, so I figured I CAN DO THIS!
And two state returns and one federal return later (interspersed with my cries of "WE ARE NOT PAYING MICHIGAN MORE TAXES! We only lived there for FOUR MONTHS THIS YEAR!" and then my sheepish glee when I realized I had forgotten to add an important number that wound up giving us a refund rather than owing), WE'RE DONE!
Relocating, having a bambina, and buying a house made us PRIME CANDIDATES FOR THE CASH, and we are getting such a huge refund, Vee and I decided we should go bougie-bedroom-set hunting. Mainly because OUR BED IS STILL ON THE FLOOR (not even a bed frame). It's shameful.
Here's the dank we're considering.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Bouge it up and get two of the tall dressers + the headboard/bed frame, or just get the bed frame and find "eclectic" dressers on our own time? Vee and I are split on this.
IS A BEDROOM SET TOO BOUGIE FOR US? (is THIS bedroom set bougie?)
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