Geraldine Hoff Doyle obituary: Doyle inspired 'We Can Do It' poster

Geraldine Hoff Doyle obituary: Doyle inspired 'We Can Do It' poster - latimes.com

Strange Girls

This made me smile for some reason. :-)

Seven Year Old Girl Bullied for Being Star Wars Fan; Fans Give Support

Seven year old girl was being bullied at school for loving Star Wars, and having a Star Wars water bottle because Star Wars is "for boys." Amazing little girl: she's adopted, and has had to go through some difficult things in her short life, but she has a strong spirit. Star War fans in the cyber world sent their support, and for the rest, read here: Internet rallies behind teased Star Wars girl

Happy Thanksgiving!

One of my B-day Presents

Because it is girlie:

Probably not many people still use hand-written agenda books, but that is beside the point. This one has vintage like girlie things for each week. Like this one:

I will try to share more of this awesome girlie thingie in the future!

More Vintage Goodness!

My friend Frank De Freitas sent me those in the mail with a special 1961 issue of Flying Saucers magazine.  According to Frank:

The cards are original, unused, 1940's penny arcade cards. At the old amusement parks, on hot summer nights, someone would put a penny in the "meet your true love" machines. When they pulled the lever back out, one of these cards would come out.

You know me - I think they are awesome!  Well, and also a good reminder to women to be grateful to the "bread winner."  LOL!

Hair Rant

Well, I got my hair cut a week ago or so, and am still peeved. The woman that's cut my hair the past two or three times is good in some ways, I like her, but, she seems slow, and this last time, I had it. Each time I've gone she talked me out of what I wanted, saying how the length I wanted wasn't good for my face shape, and other things. Well, maybe so, but, it's my hair, my face, my money, and if that's what I want, that's what I want!

So she did pretty much what I wanted this last time, with the layers on top, but when I got home, I realized, it still wasn't what I wanted. And the length; still too long!!!

I didn't have a picture to show her, but still...

Why is that so damn hard to figure out?! I'm frustrated. So now, because I'm too wimpy to go back to her and anyway, don't want to go through the hassle, I need to find someone who's savvy.

Right now I look like a big dork.

Year of the Woman in NM?

Yes, those are my two choices for Governor.  The top photo being Democrat - Diane Denish.  Below that the Republican - Susanna Martinez.  Actually, I already voted for Denish, but it was once again just choosing the lesser of two evils.  I couldn't possibly vote for Martinez after she was endorsed by Palin.

I feel cheated because I should be happy that no matter what happens, NM will have a woman Governor, but I not.  Neither of these women have the ideas or even charisma of a turnip.  The really really sad thing is that if you compare them to many of the other women running for office nationally this year, say in Nevada, California and Delaware, I guess that I really should be happy.  It looks like Martinez will probably win and even though she was endorsed by Sarah Palin, she is not the crazed tea bagger that those other women are.  Well, or if she is - she hides it pretty well.

I suppose things could be worse -- I could had to choose the lesser evil from two men (like normal).

Halloween Hair Prep!

Tomorrow my friend K.C. is cutting my hair.  I am pretty sure I am going have her dye it some shade of red -- whatever would come out lightest for my hair and then I am going to either have her add (if she has time) or I will add blond streaks through it.  I feel like a big change!  I have had such boring hair these past several years.  When I was younger I would always dye it funky colors like pink and blue, but not in recent years and I really miss it.

Now aside from that, I have all my witchy halloween make-up ready.  I will admit it -- I don't like being ugly for Halloween, so hopefully it is a sexy witch.  As soon as my hair is how I want it I will do a trial run of everything. :-))

Some Vintage Halloween Babes!

Mad Henry Makow and Women in Jeans

Henry Makow, or "Mad" Makow, as I like to call him, is ... well, ... hmm. He's a pundit actively promoted by Jeff Rense, a Christian, but he's Jewish, he's the "inventor of the board game Scruples," he's a right wing, Illuminati fearing, paranoid bigot, homophobic and misogynistic male, stuck in a Twilight Zone version of the 1950s. His latest rant is an "annual update" about women in jeans. Every year he republishes his article Female Gender Confusion is in the Jeans,  with some tweaks.  It's funny, and would be even funnier, if it weren't for the fact Makow is serious, deadly so, and that he has fans. Admirers. Men, and women, who agree with him. Scary, that is. Be sure to read the comments after his post at his site; many are from women.


He opens with a quote from Deuteronomy, so that tells you something, then proceeds to enlighten us as to what it is about jean wearing women that is so wrong:

Jeans are a fitting feminist symbol. They are farm workers' and miners' clothes. Feminism is an invention of the central bankers who also created and financed the socialist and communist movements to control people.

Makow is an anti-Semite, and uses code words for Jew like "central bankers" a lot. One of his pet theories are that Jews, er, bankers, invented feminism to destroy men and take over the world.

Makow offers advice to men, warning them of jean wearing pinko commie lesbian feminist women:

Men, a woman wearing jeans is a red flag that you might be dealing with "GID" --"gender identity disorder." Her jeans are saying: "I don't want to be a woman. I don't want to look good for men. I fear and distrust men. I want male prerogatives. I want to look like a man. I want to be a man."

He weaves all this into Stalinist Illuminati take overs, you just have to read it to see for yourself. He ends with this:

There is nothing more beautiful than a women wearing a summer dress. I can still remember a young woman I saw five years ago wearing a frock. That's how powerful femininity is. Let's not let highly-paid pious feminist and lesbian "change agents" destroy it. It's time for real women to relegate jeans to garden or farm work.

Did he just say "frock?" I haven't heard that term since I was a kid when my grandmother used it, and I'm old!

Makow's website is savethemales.com. Yep, "save the males." Oy.

Olay Site: Personal Care System

In my fifites, and I need help. I go to the magic facial cream aisle, and walk away without buying anything because I'm so confused and overwhelmed. So far, I've been using a daily mosturizer with sunscreen, exfoliant, facial cleansing soap at night, and whatever night creams my mother or girlfriends pass on to me. Oh, and I use the rolly ball thingie; the Garnier anti puff eye treatment, which is fun and it does seem to help.

Determined to go back into the confusing magic face cream realm and come away with at least a good firming wrinkle banishing (or at least, diminishing) face cream, I went to the Olay site. They have a nice system over there where you answer questions about your personal skin type, your style, your needs, and they make recommendations based on that. They've very aware of the overwhelm factor; for people like myself, with adult ADHD, it's very soothing. Calming background music, soothing female voice assuring you there's no pressure, lol.

So I came away with a "plan" and I'll report back on the results. I do like Olay products; I have sensitive skin and some brands I just can't tolerate but with Olay, I haven't had any problems.

For my particular style and needs, they recommend the Definity line.

Tessa Dick Presents: It's a Philip K. Dick World!: Epinions - my reviews of products and services

Author Tessa Dick has a nifty post on her blog Tessa Dick Presents: a link to her presence on Epinions. Epinions is an on-line place you can write, and read, reviews of all kinds of products, and, earn a little bit of money! I know I'm going to try it. I liked the one review of Tessa's I've read so far on an Olay product. So check out Tessa's link, read her reviews, and maybe you'll try writing some yourself!


Tessa Dick Presents: It's a Philip K. Dick World!: Epinions - my reviews of products and services

How Fairy Tales really end

Someone sent me an email with these today. :-)

Prince Poppycock's Got Talent

I normally don't watch the competitive TV talent shows, not even American Idol (except the auditions).  However, several weeks back I was flipping through channels and came across Prince Poppycock on America's Got Talent.  I thought he was wonderful!  He wasn't just standing there singing, he had an entire act, props and costumes!  Last night was the final show and Prince Poppycock came in 4th (last of the remaining contestants).  The other acts were good and actually I had expected the 10 year old adorable and great opera singing girl to win (she didn't), but I didn't expect PP to come in last!  Really I thought the dancers would.  I am sure that is my own personal spin since I don't care for dancing unless it is some some sexy tango.  Anyhow, it kind of made me wonder if I am just weird?  Well, OK, I know I am, but does that make me no judge of entertaiment?  Maybe I am not so weird and America is just totally even more homophobic than I had realized?  Especially with the Tea Bagger movement doing so well lately?  Guess it doesn't really matter, but it does give me an excuse to post my favorite PP performance, which I realize will bleed over into the sidebar.

The ugliest shoes, well, ever on Shine

A lot of these I don't find that ugly.  Love Uggs!  I especially like those black UGG looking boots with the silver stars.  However, the hoof ones in the photo have to be among the ugliest ever!  Unless you are dressing as a goat for Halloween.

Iris Schieferstein hoof heels - The ugliest shoes, well, ever on Shine

Monkey Slippers!

Found at Target for $13.  I thought they were a bit pricey, but I practically live in slippers like that in the winter (we have mostly tile floors) and they are so cute!

Need to add something to previous post...

I was just at the Cato website.  Really - these women are the plus sized models?  For some reason I feel angry and irritated again.

Yeah, I take out my anger by buying clothing. So what?

OK, so I am thinking I can get out of my grumpy mood by talking about girlie stuff and then go to sleep - we will see.

The nearest clothing store to my house is Cato, it is less than 5 minutes away.  Not sure if that is good or bad.  Anyhow, whenever I feel, not sure what the word is - not really depressed, but more like irritated and angry (normally for no real reason) I head up there to relieve my pain for a short while.  All girls know the shopping high doesn't last long, but it is good while it does last.

Cato, is not only close to my house, but I actually like a lot of their clothing.  Number 1, because a lot of it is 100% cotton.  Honestly, I can't stand rayon or polyester.  Well, I could wear it for a short time if it was something really awesome looking, but it isn't something I would feel comfortable in or want to wear all day.  My favorite thing about Cato is all those cotton blouses!

This year there are lots of plaid prints.  Not just your normal plaid shirts, a lot of them have beads or studs and really cute cuts.  That was how I ended up spending around $100 in their clearance racks.  About 8 shirts, some sunglasses and the cutest leopard print scarf ever!  That was Saturday evening and it was enough of a high to last until Sunday!

I wonder if men ever do that?  Only instead of a clothing shop they head to Home Depot or somewhere like that?  I don't think any of them would ever admit it.

A Dress A Day: From Ugly Thrift Store Finds to Style

  Marisa Lynch was inspired by the film Julie and Julia, that, and being laid off, to transform ugly thrift store dresses into stylish pieces:

Marisa Lynch set herself a challenge: Transform 365 unattractive frocks in 365 days, for $365. Just before her 30th birthday, she got laid off. To some, losing a job means hitting the streets with a resume or wallowing in grief. But for Marisa, it meant getting the sewing machine out and upcycling thrifted fashions. Every day.

“I was just in this not-feeling-good, crummy kind of mood, and I didn’t know how to kick it,” says Marisa. That’s when Marisa saw the movie, Julie & Julia. “[Julie] was finding something to do every day that made her feel great. I was jealous. I thought, I want to find that.”

Thus, New Dress A Day entered the blogosphere. The task: To make a new fashion piece a day — on a budget of a dollar a day — for an entire year.

Think the uber-frugal budget and tight turnaround requirements can only mean shoddy, unfashionable duds? Not for Marisa. All you have to do is take a quick glance at New Dress A Day to see that while this West Hollywood resident may be short on money and time, she’s never short on style.

I love it; I wish I could do that. I love thrift store shopping but the most I'll do is maybe change buttons or something like that. I'm not a sewer by any means, but admire those that are creative with needle and thread.

New Blog

Yep, it had to happen eventually.  Since I am getting back to making jewelry again - I felt the need to start yet another blog.  It isn't just about jewelry making though, also about vintage jewelry (and other vintage girlie stuff) and jewelry in general.  It is called Menagerie of Mystery and eventually I will be changing my website (of the same name) to got along with that theme.

So if you are interested in such topics - bookmark it.  If you would like to post there on vintage or jewelry topics - just let me know.

Etsy

If you haven't already, check out Regan Lee and Richelle Hawks shops on Etsy.  Not only did they inspire me to get back to making jewelry, but I also found out that you can sell vintage items that aren't handmade on Etsy.  Oh my, I have boxes and boxes of vintage jewelry, jewelry components and other vintage items.  Being that they are in storage, they are doing me no good sitting there, so I might as well try to get rid of some stuff.

I spent time yesterday setting up my shop.  It isn't totally finished and I have nothing for sale yet, but within a few days I should.  Obviously I don't expect to be rolling in cash from it, mostly it is for fun and gives me a good excuse to go through all my jewelry stuff and get inspired to make new things.

I also posted some photos of some of my beadwork on facebook.  None of it is for sale -- just my personal collection. :-)

Mermaid's Tears

A new area for me, though not to the thousands who know all about this. Sea glass, or mermaid's tears, bits of glass that have journeyed within the ocean to find their way onto beaches, where collectors discover them. This Sunday's edition of Parade Magazine had an article on sea glass, which had me wondering about this (for me) new world.


I've always picked up stones I've liked while walking the beach, and sometimes when lucky enough to find, agates. But I ignored the sea gems, or sea glass, thinking it was "just glass." Now I have an appreciation for it, and am looking forward to my next walk on the beach.

A lot of people make jewelry from mermaid's tears; I found this shop on Etsy: Mermaid's Tears; hand crafted jewelry. I love the pendants and necklaces! I'm sure I'll order one, just deciding which one, but I'm thinking of this one:

I like the introduction the shop owner created for her Mermaid's Tears spot:

Sea glass or Mermaid's Tears as it is also known is a wonderful natural creation filled with magic, legends and an air of mystery.Perhaps that piece of cornflower you twirl between your fingers originated as a Victorian poison bottle tossed into the sea by some cloaked woman hiding in the shadows trying to eliminate all traces of her dastardly crime. That rare regal red that you have plucked from the sand could have been a lantern from a notorious pirate vessel lost to the sea now lurking in the mists near some forgotten shoreline. The legend of Mermaid's Tears says that the tears (or sea glass) were created by mermaids who sobbed for the tears of sailor's lost at sea. As their tears hit the water, they turned to these magical pieces of frosted glass .Lovingly nurtured by the ocean; tossed and churned ;pounded by surf and rumbled across pebbles to create an amazing piece of beautiful history.

Losing It!

Over the past 5 days or so, I have managed to lose 5 lbs!  After over-thinking diets and such for many months I am shocked at how easy it was.  This is pretty much the basic way I did it:

I quit buying bags of chocolate, which tempts me to take one each time I pass it.

I didn't eat any pizza or cheese.

No white bread, no potatoes. 

When Britton had a hot dog, I chose a turkey sandwich on wheat instead.  I didn't miss the hot dog at all because I don't really like them.  I only eat them because he wants one and it seemed silly to make something different for myself.

I didn't eat anything fattening near bedtime.  If I was hungry it was just celery and other veggies.

When I did have a meal, I ate less, but not so little that I didn't get full.

I don't want you to think that I totally deprived myself because I didn't.  I even totally pigged out on popcorn when we went to the movie.

Of course, now I am afraid that after the 5 lbs this plan will totally quit working, but we will see.

Bran Muffins -- yuk!

Until yesterday I had never tried a bran muffin.  When I was at Trader Joe's I saw some in the baked goods section.  They are suppose to be "good for you" and they looked good (TJ's normally has really good baked goods) so I thought they would be a nice idea for breakfast sometimes and bought 2 package, one blueberry and one mango/blueberry.  I tried a blueberry one last night and it was HORRIBLE!  It was so horrible that even my dog (who will pretty much eat anything) wanted nothing to do with it.  Is it just the particular ones I got or do they all taste that bad?  Are there people that actually like bran muffins or are they something people strictly eat because they are constipated or trying to lose weight?

Do you know what the one flaw in women is?

This was in my email box today; thought I'd share.

Do you know what the one flaw in women is?: "You've got to watch this beautiful 3-minute movie: http://www.theoneflawinwomen.com/"

More of Mel's sick ranting

Oksana: What kind of a man is that? Hitting a woman when she’s holding a child in her hands? Breaking her teeth twice in the face! What kind of man is that?
Mel: Oh, you’re all angry now! You know what, you f* cking deserved it!

Possibly I am wrong, but when a man continues to insist that a woman deserved to be hit, most especially when that woman was holding his 8 month old daughter - there is no hope for him.

It is possible, as Mel says in at least one of the tapes, that Oksana is a "gold digger."  Let's look at the situation though, Mel is what -- 108 year old?  OK, maybe not quite that old, but you get my point.  Oksana is a beautiful young woman.  Now I am not saying a beautiful young woman can't fall in love with an older man (my SO is older than me by a decade), but did Mel not consider that possibility back before he got a woman pregnant?  You know, before he destroyed his marriage with his wife that had like 8 children with him?  If he was stupid enough to fall for a gold digger (and I am not saying she is) doesn't he hold most of the blame?  Shouldn't he have just looked in the mirror and thought about how he should proceed cautiously because not only is he old, but he is also a total asshole and most women would not want to be with him?  I think so.

Then of course there are the threats of murder -- what psycho rant would be complete without them?:

I’ll put you in a f *ckin rose garden you c*nt! You understand that? Because I’m capable of it. You understand that?

What a man, eh?  Nothing shows you are a man more than threatening a 95 lb woman.

One of my favorite weird things in these new tapes is that Mel claims to have left his wife, Robyn, not for Oksana, but because they had no "spiritual connection."  Ya know, because Mel is so spiritual.  Seriously, does he not get that he is sooooooooooo unspiritual that he could not possibly have a spiritual relationship with anyone or anything?

The best thing about these tapes is that he pretty much admitted to beating Oksana and knocking out her teeth (while she was holding his baby) so it should be very easy for him to be convicted of domestic violence there in CA.

Note:  I took those quotes from the text portion because the few clips I have heard on TV were too disturbing for me and I couldn't listen to the actual recording.

Mel Gibson -- I just can't help but comment

So I decided to go listen to what was called a "racist rant" myself.  I think we all pretty much already knew that Mel was racist and that wasn't what shocked me.  What shocked me was the intensity in which he was speaking to his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, Oksana Grigorieva.  Seriously, if I were her I would be afraid for my life.  There was all this religious prudishness about how her clothes are always too tight and she is a whore and on and on.  Here is one of the quotes:

“You go out in public and it’s a f*cking embarrassment to me. You look like a f*cking bitch in heat. And if you get raped by a pack of ni**ers it will be your fault. Alright? Because you provoked it. You are provocatively dressed all the time with your fake boobs that you feel you have to show off. I don’t like it. I don’t want that woman. I don’t want  you. I don’t trust you. I don’t love you.”

I haven't seen that many photos of Oksana, but she doesn't seem to dress overly provocative to me.  Besides which, she doesn't seem to dress any differently than before he met her -- he knew how she dressed and he obviously liked that and her fake boobs at one point.

In another tape she made that wasn't on the site, he reportedly said:

"I am going to come and burn the f**king house down... but you will blow me first."

This guy has some major issues and I wouldn't be at all surprised if we don't eventually see an OJ type scenario play out, maybe not with Oksana, but if I were her I wouldn't take any chances.  I don't know what domestic violence laws are in CA, but I really hope they throw the book at him.

More Adventures in Grocery Land

Jim and I were just at Target. The cashier was ringing up our items, then all of a sudden she asks Jim "What's your birthdate?" Jim says, very nicely but confused (as was I) "Why do you need to know my birthdate?" She said "Because of the wine, we have to ask." (Among our items was a bottle of red Zin; Gnarly Head)  We both cracked up and I said (nicely, like anyone would know that was a needless question to ask) "That's ridiculous," but she didn't get it, in fact, looked offended. The people in line behind us were making jokes too.

At first, when she asked us, we thought it was some weird Big Brother thing, like places that ask for your zip code and phone number and stuff. It never occurred to us that buying wine would be an issue.

I understand that state law probably requires cashiers to ask someone's age if they appear to be under 25 or 30 or something. But where's the common sense? Here's a picture of my darling Jim:

Does he look like he's over 21? LOL.

In the Grocery Store: Snarky Cashiers and Grabby Baggers

There's one market we shop at every week; it's like a Whole Foods but that's not the name of the store. And like most places now, you're encouraged to bring in your own bags and get a few cents off for each bag you bring in.

Every time we go in there, we bag our own groceries. We do this because we've had such awful experiences with the people who bag; it's incredible! One of our own bags is an insulated cooler type bag; which would tell anyone with a brain that perishable items go there. But nope, they'll toss any old thing in there. They might put, say, the fish in there but then on top of that, they'll put tomato cans. Speaking of cans, they also put all the cans in one bag, all the glass bottles in another, etc.

So instead of coming off like uptight mean people, (because no matter how nicely you might say something to the person bagging your groceries, they take it the wrong way...) we gave up and just started bagging our own groceries.

A typical encounter goes like this:

I set up the bags at the end of the counter. Person comes over to start bagging, or the clerk will start to bag. I'll say, very cheerfully, very friendly, something like "Oh, thank you, but we'll bag our own stuff," and sometimes make a joke or something. Almost always, the clerk will say something like 'OH, well, by all means..." super sarcastically. I've had the baggers just stomp off! What kind of customer service is that?

To top it off, I've had baggers come over when I'm done, and I'm putting the bags in the cart, and the person will take a bag from out of my hand!!!! and put it in the cart. I'll say, "I have it thanks," but they ignore me. Ignore me! They either stomp off again, or act all offended.

I don't want to be rude but next time some clerk or bagger cops an attitude about me, the paying customer, bagging my own damn groceries, I'll tell them why it's so. Because you all don't know how to bag stuff using common sense.

More of my 80s memories -- weddings!

Yep, that is me, circa 1984 or so.

Anyhow, thinking about 1980s themed movies earlier made me think of my favorite - The Wedding Singer!  For 2 Springs and Summers, 1983 and 84, as I recall -- I seemed to attend at least 2 weddings a month.  Some of those months, especially in June, I am sure that I attended a wedding every single Saturday.  They were all very much like the ones in the wedding singer.  They were awesome!

At that time I worked at what would become Honeywell, but then it was Sperry Air Flight Systems.  I don't know exactly how many people worked there, but hundreds at least.  The thing about the 80s is that people that were pretty much complete strangers (except for working at the same place) would invite you to their weddings and the wedding dance after the wedding.  Sometimes not even their wedding, but their friend, sister or cousin -- someone you didn't know at all.  It was so sweet because you see I was still a few years off from being legal drinking age and at weddings (at least back then) nobody asked to see an ID, you simple asked for a drink and they gave it to you.  You could drink (sometimes for free) and dance all night to great music, performed by a band that looked just as you are imagining!  I have never had so much fun at a wedding since those 80s weddings, all these modern ones pale in comparison. 

A random thought on foodiness

It occurs to me sometimes that my rather unhealthy obsession with food stems back to childhood.  Not in the way most would think though.  I grew up mainly living with my grandmother, who on Christmas or Easter, could be a great cook.  However the rest of the time our meals were totally dull and easy -- some sort of meat, baked potato and some sort of canned vegetable.  To this very day -- I can't force down more than a bite of canned veggies.  This is also true -- I was around 12 years old (whenever kids stop getting kids meals at restaurants) before I EVER had a salad and only then because I was served one with a meal at a restaurant.  After that I wanted salad all of the time and this seemed to totally shock my grandmother.  There were lots of foods we just never had, like ethnic foods.  Even pasta, except for mac and cheese, was something we never had.  Once I became an adult I realized there was a whole world of food out there that I had never been given and that were totally delicious!  I blame that for turning me into such a foodie, kind of like I am making up for lost time.  :-)  Luckily, for most of my life I had an incredibly high metabolism.  I could easily out eat my sister's 200+ lbs husband without blinking an eye and without gaining an ounce -- God, I miss those days!  I know that I am over 40, but this new waistline totally depresses me at times, but at least I can blame it on Grandma.

Pregnancy and Purity Balls

I was just watching TV and an ad came on for something called The Pregnancy Line.  They give a number that women that just found out they are pregnant and don't know what to do can call for help.  So I looked them up online and the site asks for your zip code so they can refer you to someone near you, where you can hear more about your "options."  So I did that and the only clinic they gave me was something called "Care Net Pregnancy Center."  I am pretty familiar with woman's clinics here and I had never heard of that, so I became even more suspicious than I already was.  They didn't give an url for this clinic so I googled it and sure enough -- it is a fundie Christian group that puts on "Purity Balls" among their activities.  So warning to all women that really want to know your options and not simply why you shouldn't have an abortion -- stay away from something called The Pregnancy Line.

Possibly I am wrong, but isn't illegal for such groups to advertise on TV without disclosing that they are a religious group or referring people to religious groups?

Let me leave you with a couple photos of purity balls so we can all remember how creepy and incestuous they seem.

 

Rudeness is not excusable because you are a man and impatient!

Just venting -- Early this evening I made a run to the grocery store.  I always shop at this particular one even though there is another right across the street.  The reasons being -- it is normally less crowded because it is slightly more expensive, I don't need to keep track on one of those stupid store cards to get the sales price, but most of all I shop there because everyone is so nice and they all know me and talk to me.

It was around 9 pm and there was only one line open when I got in line.  There were probably about 4 people in front of me, most only having a case of beer (it is Friday night in NM).  I think one person maybe had around a dozen items.  This asshole gets in line behind me and automatically starts bitching loudly about there only being one line open.  Mind you, this is after he asked someone and they said another would be opening in a minute -- they were just counting the drawer or something.  Even this man's wife (or whoever she was) seems to get annoyed by him and she takes off and leaves him in line alone.  Then he starts griping to the woman behind him.  Two of the people in front of me have already checked out and there are only two to go.  So I say it is no big deal because the line is moving fast.  I have been in line all of about 2 minutes and already they are opening another lane which they take the person in front of me and me to.  So now he only has 1 person in front of him and he asks to see the manager!  The guy that has just opened the new lane tells him he is the manager and the guy complains about having to wait in line!   OK, so I had enough of this and I said loudly (to make sure asshole heard me) that I had no idea what people were complaining about since I only had to wait in line for about 2 minutes and they all got in line after me.  That was greeted by total silence from the line next to me.  Apparently asshole realized he had pretty much complained about nothing. 

However, the thing that irritated me even more was that although he got quiet after that he then started whining to the woman behind him that basically he couldn't help being an asshole because he hated waiting in line and is impatient and she totally excused his behavior by telling him that she didn't like waiting in line either.  Yes and that would have been fine if they had actually had to wait in a line for more than 2 minutes!  I felt as though this older woman also thought he was an asshole but was excusing his behavior because she didn't want any trouble.  I couldn't judge the reaction of any men to him, since there were none around.  The guy was kind of tall and was wearing a harley davidson jacket, but so obviously was a biker poser -- the kind that would be terrified of a real biker.

I know it is a small thing in the scheme of things that are ruining the world, but I really wish that other people would have a bit o' balls and not let people get away with rudeness.  If rude people were constantly shamed by society they would keep their rudeness to themselves.  I also wonder about this man's wife or girlfriend that was with him -- does she just ignore this crap and let him think it is perfectly OK to act that way?  Most women wouldn't put up with another woman acting that way, but many will totally let men get away with it.  That pisses me off too! 

An Idea That Is Way Overdue - Star Wars Themed Lingerie!

 More @
Monster Island News: An Idea That Is Way Overdue - Star Wars Themed Lingerie!

ABC, Fox Refuse to Air Lane Bryant Commercial

The irony and hypocrisy are amazing. Fox won't air a Lane Bryant commercial featuring real women, with real breasts, but they'll air inappropriate, sleezy "cartoons" like American Dad and Family Guy. (Both shows I like by the way; particularly American Dad, but they are utterly tasteless.) But showing full figured women with big boobs is tasteless...

ABC, Fox Refuse to Air Lane Bryant Commercial

Apparently, in a startling display of censorship, both Fox and ABC refused to air the advertisement. Lane Bryant’s website-hosted blog, Inside Curve, maintains that the two networks presented unrealistic demands for re-edits and prohibited the ad from running during critical air times, including “Dancing with the Stars” and “American Idol.” According to Inside Curve, Fox only relented after Lane Bryant threatened to cancel the ad buy completely, and compromised by running the advertisement in the last 10 minutes of the show.

The reason is shocking: both networks insisted that the advertisement contained “too much cleavage.”

Allow that to sink in for a minute. A lingerie company for curvy and plus-sized women, which primarily features full-sized bras, is showing too much cleavage. Versus, say, Frederick’s of Hollywood or Victoria’s Secret, well-known for creating edgy cuts of lingerie that are roughly the equivalent of two postage stamps held together by a single string. In other words, advertisements featuring large–preferably augmented so as not to be too large–breasts are acceptable; naturally large, full-figured breasts are not. More to the point, naturally large, full-figured breasts are obscene, suggesting that the networks have an awfully thin (and hypocritical) threshold for decency.

The article is very good and insightful, with links to blogs and articles commenting on this. For example, this:

“People who shame women for wearing “too-revealing” clothes like to center their objections on women’s clothing “choices,” but make no mistake—this is not about what we choose. This is about the things we don’t choose—having chests or butts or legs or necks or hair or any other part of our human bodies that others decide to project their particular sexual interests—and their slut-shaming—upon. The man who is horrified at a woman’s “overly exposed” breasts will likely never have to worry about wearing one shirt—one shirt out of a lifetime of shirts—that happens to accidentally set off some random person’s slut meter, because of the way his body just is.”

In my opinion, part of this is sexism because it's about power and self-determination; as Roseanne once said, (paraphrasing) "People don't like it when women take up space."

More Shoes and Stuff

I know it is easy to think that I love shoes and mostly I do, but not in the summer.  I live it NM, it is hot here and in the summer I can’t stand to have my feet confined in a shoe, any type of enclosed shoe (or socks) makes me miserable.  So that is why when I bought new hiking shoes Tuesday, they were Teva sandals.  Oh yes, I know the problem with sandals, little rocks can get under your feet and it is easier for creatures like ants to get to you and bite you -- I am willing to put up with that.  I haven’t had any Teva shoes for a while, but they do have great soles for hiking, especially compared to what I had been wearing which were burkies and betulas. :-) 

Actually, I noticed yesterday when we took a short hike that the soles slip less than my New Balance athletic shoes.  I only had one very minor slip, unlike most days.  Slips where I don’t fall on my ass wouldn’t be so bad except they almost always cause me to twist which throws my back out of whack.

Just so you know that I don't only buy shoes, check out these great notebooks I got at borders for 75% off:

The Traveling Red Dress on The Bloggess Blog

Photo by Karen Wolword, via the Bloggess

I love this blog: The Bloggess; I found it thanks to Deirdre O'Lavery of The Interstellar Housewife, a blog I also love. The dress is beautiful, and I agree that it's impractical, and very very red, but I would wear it! Bloggess writes, of the poppy red dress:

For one thing, it’s not sensible.  It’s impractical.  It’s bright red and vibrant and shocking and “inappropriate for a woman my age”.  And I have no shoes to go with it.  And I have no place to wear it.

I'd find a place to wear it, and one thing about getting older, once you realize you're not going to wake up one morning and suddenly find yourself magically 21 again, (or a size 9) you say "fuck it" and do what you damn well please. There's more to the article than just the red dress; it's also about what the red dress inspires.  Anyway, the entire blog is witty, funny and check it out.

New Shoes

Last week Fashion Bug sent me a coupon for $10 off any purchase of $10 or more.  I haven't shopped there in a long time because the last several times I was there I didn't see anything that appealed to me.  That was why they sent to coupon and the letter said they had changed and now have more of the fashions women want.  Wednesday I had to be in that area anyhow, so I dropped in.  No, they didn't have more of the fashions I want.  For some reason it seemed like way too much stuff in the store had patterns consisting of huge flowers in bright shades.  Those types of patterns on clothing always remind me of certain ladies in my neighborhood where I grew up that wore moo-moos, almost always with huge bright flowers all over them.  Anyhow, those weren't for me and I was kind of wondering if I would find anything that was.  Just as I was about to give up and leave I noticed a back wall with shoes.  So I ended up with these snake print sandals with lots of shiny silver buckles, which actually I think are pretty cute and only cost me $5 with my $10 off coupon.

Typical Woman's Magazine

A friend emailed this to me yesterday.  It is so true!  Not that I buy those, but I did buy a couple back in my teens and I read the covers when I am in the check out line.  The only thing missing is the stupid quiz, which normally breaks down into figuring out if you are good enough to deserve a man.  Blah! 

Happy May Day!

JK Rowling on Britain's Conservative "nasty' Party (from Boing Boing)

Boing Boing has posted a letter written by JK Rowling, in response to the UK's conservative party, and their views on being a single parent (ie, a woman), poverty, etc. Parallels to neo-cons and right wingers here.

Nobody who has ever experienced the reality of poverty could say "it's not the money, it's the message". When your flat has been broken into, and you cannot afford a locksmith, it is the money. When you are two pence short of a tin of baked beans, and your child is hungry, it is the money. When you find yourself contemplating shoplifting to get nappies, it is the money. If Mr Cameron's only practical advice to women living in poverty, the sole carers of their children, is "get married, and we'll give you £150", he reveals himself to be completely ignorant of their true situation.

The Sarah Palin Network

The Eight Not-So-Wonderful Wonders of the Dating World...

 A very good post for any of you that are still dating:
Receipts of The Boyfriend Shopper: The Eight Not-So-Wonderful Wonders of the Dating World...

Most of the guys on this list can be fun if you are just dating them for fun and not thinking that you may some day marry them.  Two big exceptions I can think of to that though #1 The Lawyer (they are no fun at all) #2 and the worst IMO, the clinger.  There is nothing I hate more than clingers.  You know the ones that call you every 5 minutes to find out what you are doing and have to know exactly where you are going and when you will be back, like you are 5 years old?  If you even speak to another man they pout and whine about how you are going to leave them and you will, but not for another man, just because they drive you away with their constant "love."  You know they go through this over and over and yet they never seem to figure out why they keep getting dumped or keep themselves from doing the same thing all over again.   I am sure there are plenty of women that are the same way, it isn't limited to men.

And this just in...

Princess Sparkle Pony posted this -
Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog: Michael Steele's Latest Indignity? Sarah Palin Steals His Most Famous Line For Keeps, Also Dresses Weirdly

Is Palin trying to go all goth on us?  Seriously, I think I had that black velvet jacket back during my more gothy period in my early 20's.  Really though, she looks like she is ready to attend a funeral -- let's hope she is putting the nail in the coffin of Michele Bachmann.  I can't decide which of them is more annoying.

Dr Oz about Artificial Sweetners and Weight Loss

Although, I disagree with him about no evidence they are dangerous (aspartame wouldn't be banned in so many countries if there were no evidence) he does explain well why it doesn't help you to lose weight.  Personally I think that is true of all diet food (meaning anything that isn't naturally low fat or low calories).  True story -- I did not start gaining weight until several years ago when Britton needed to go on a diet because of blood pressure and cholesterol problems.  At that time I started buying mostly low fat foods instead of the normal types of food I had always bought and that is when I started gaining weight.  Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it is an awfully odd one.  Anyhow, I still think portion control is the key to weight loss rather than what you eat.

From The Larry King Show:

KING: Another question from King's Things, our Twitter: is there any danger in consuming artificial sweeteners.

OZ: I'm not a big fan of artificial sweeteners. I have to be clear in saying that there's no compelling evidence that they're dangerous, or they cause cancer in the doses humans normally take. But here's the real argument, Larry -- I mean, these products, the diet sodas, for example, that are commonly imbibed by Americans, I mean, they are sold by big companies that have marketing budgets. If they truly helped you diet, don't you think they'd present that data and show you can lose weight if you had a diet soda?

The reality is, Larry, you don't lose weight with diet soda. So they don't accomplish their main goal. In fact, if you sat down and had a cup of iced tea and a tablespoon of sugar, you know how many calories you'd get? Give me an idea?

KING: A hundred?

OZ: Twelve, 12 calories? I'd rather you put real sugar in a the tea, enjoy a little sweetness with it. Get your 12 calories. You're going to get your 12 calories anyway. Don't get fooled. When you have an artificial sweetener, Larry, what happens is your brain is smart enough to realize you're giving itself something sweet but no calories with it. It's reminding you, hey guy, you cheated me, give me back the calories you promised me. People who have artificial sweetener in their diet tend to get more obesity.

KING: We will try to be equal to that task. We'll be right back.

Brown Pumps

Bought new shoes today, a sort of Mary Jane style, I mean what the hell why not. They're surprisingly comfortable; I don't usually wear heels but these feel fine. Nothing fancy and certainly not high end in any way; cheap-o Payless shoes but they'll do! I like them too because they're a nice brown; I'm so tired of black!

My Girlie Plans for Today

After more than an entire winter, I think since last August, I am going to get a hair cut.  My friend KC got her license several months ago and she will be cutting it at the salon she works at.  So it is double fun!  I get to have my hair cut and I get to hang out with KC for a bit.

After that I have something else planned, though I am not sure how girlie it is.  I will be shopping for and hopefully buying the 64 gb iPad.  I suppose if they don't have any left at Best Buy I will have to order one, but Albuquerque isn't like big cities (LA and NYC) people weren't camping out over night to get one, so I think my chances are pretty good.

I would take before and after pictures of my hair, but my built in camera on the macbook doesn't seem to be working.  It does that sometimes and then starts working again at a later date -- I have no clue why.  Maybe I will try taking photos with my regular digital camera.

The Teenage Black Widow

This story is just totally sad. This girl should have never been married to be a "black widow" at 17 years old. Not that the men (or boys) they use are much different. You take teenagers that are confused anyway and mix in some religion, make them think they will be heroes and you can probably get a lot of them to do almost anything. Well, especially this girl who was probably not only a normally confused teenager but also grief stricken.

I hope she doesn't end up disappointed when she gets to heaven or wherever only to find hubby is busy with his 70 virgins.

Palin's got the look

I think the look works for her. In fact, I bet if we got her a nice knife and a Nazi hat she would be able to get a date with Jesse James.

Saudi woman blasts clerics in TV contest Her recitation on the show brings cheers, death threats

A very brave woman! Hissa Hilal, a poet, verbally and creatively attacked the religious controller with her art. Wearing black from head to toe, only her eyes could be seen, she read her poem on national television:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - It was a startling voice of protest at a startling venue. Covered head-to-toe in black, a Saudi woman lashed out at hard-line Muslim clerics' harsh religious edicts in verse on live TV at a popular Arabic version of "American Idol."

Well, not quite "American Idol": Contestants compete not in singing but in traditional Arabic poetry. Over the past episodes, poets sitting on an elaborate stage before a live audience have recited odes to the beauty of Bedouin life and the glories of their rulers or mourning the gap between rich and poor.

It was on this popular show she read her poem, which was:

a blistering poem against Muslim preachers "who sit in the position of power" but are "frightening" people with their fatwas, or religious edicts, and "preying like a wolf" on those seeking peace.

Her poem got loud cheers from the audience and won her a place in the competition's finals, to be aired on Wednesday.

It also brought her death threats, posted on several Islamic militant Web sites.

Her poem was seen as a response to Sheik Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak, a prominent cleric in Saudi Arabia who recently issued a fatwa saying those who call for the mingling of men and women should be considered infidels, punishable by death.

But more broadly, it was seen as addressing any of many hard-line clerics in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the region who hold a wide influence through television programs, university positions or Web sites.

It's encouraging to know Hilal received such praise and scores for her poem:
Hilal's 15-verse poem was in a form known as Nabati, native to nomadic tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. She criticized extremism that she told AP is "creeping into our society" through fatwas.

"I have seen evil in the eyes of fatwas, at a time when the permitted is being twisted into the forbidden," she said in the poem. She called such edicts "a monster that emerged from its hiding place" whenever "the veil is lifted from the face of truth."

She described hard-line clerics as "vicious in voice, barbaric, angry and blind, wearing death as a robe cinched with a belt," in an apparent reference to suicide bombers' explosives belts.

The three judges gave her the highest marks for her performance, praising her for addressing a controversial topic. That, plus voting from the 2,000 people in the audience and text messages from viewers, put her through to the final round.

Stop Violence Against Christian Women ONLY!

As those of you on facebook know, often times you get requests from friends to join various groups. A couple months ago I received a request to join a group called "Stop violence against women." Seemed like the right thing to do (not that I am sure fb groups really help anything), so I joined it. There was no hint of anything weird on their info page. Then today a little message popped up in my fb toolbar saying that the name of the group had been changed to "Stop violence against Christian Women." WTF? At first, I thought it was a joke, until I started reading down the group wall and seeing various bible themed messages left by the admin of the group. Of course, I left a message on the wall about my feelings on the name change and then left the group.

As far as I am concerned such a group can't claim to be an advocate for women (being that they don't care about all women) nor can they even claim to be Christian. I grew up going to church - I know what is in the bible and Jesus taught to love and help ALL people. I don't know how someone that claims to be a Christian even justifies that type of thing in their head. Then again, I don't know how fundamentalists justify a lot of the stuff they believe in.

Maybe Butter isn't as bad as you think

Pass The Butter .. Please.

This is interesting . .. .

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back.

It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow colouring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavourings..

DO YOU KNOW.. The difference between margarine and butter?

Read on to the end...gets very interesting!

Both have the same amount of calories.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams; compared to 5 grams for margarine.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few and
only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavours of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years .

And now, for Margarine..

Very High in Trans fatty acids.

Triples risk of coronary heart disease .
Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

Increases the risk of cancers up to five times..

Lowers quality of breast milk.

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact.... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... and shares 27 ingredients with PAINT

These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

You can try this yourself:

Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it open in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will notice a couple of things:

* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic . Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Share This With Your Friends.....(If you want to butter them up')!

Chinese Proverb: When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.
Pass the BUTTER PLEASE

Aspartame (formaldehyde) doesn't help to lose weight

Several months ago I ran into an old friend of mine at a health food store. She was there looking for Agave sweetner. Even though she works out like a maniac (seriously - like a maniac) and watches what she eats, she could not manage to lose any weight and so she visited a doctor. That doctor told her that one of her problems was using Aspartame sweetner and sent her in search of all natural sweetner. So even though women (and men) take the risk of eating and drinking what is basically formaldehyde (you know, the stuff they embalm dead people with), it apparently doesn't even help to lose weight. What a rip off!

Frankly, I had always wondered. Years ago, my sister who had a terrible coke habit, switched to diet sodas and other no sugar foods. She drank at least a 6 pack per day (though I imagine more than that) and you would think that switching to a diet soda and no sugar foods, since she really didn't eat much, would have caused her to lose a few pounds, but no.

For Men - What we don't want for Valentine's Day

Contrary to what TV and radio might make you believe, most of us don't want pajamas


or a teddy bear


We are your wife or your girlfriend, not your daughter or niece.

I think I speak for most women when I say we would rather have jewelry, even if it isn't the expensive kind. I would love a sterling silver heart necklace (especially if it were engraved with something special) waaaaaaaaay more than either of those things above.

Other good choices are more tried a true standbys (there is a reason they are always popular) chocolate, flowers and/or a romantic dinner somewhere nice. Lingerie isn't bad either, just not those pajamas they constantly advertise on TV - something way sexier than that. Although, I think a box of chocolates (or something else) with lingerie is a good match because likely the lingerie is more for the guy than the lady (I think that is true even if your lover is another woman). :)