She Knows What She Wants and…

Yesterday, Eleanor was playing Barbies and conducting a rather sweet little dialogue with herself:

Eleanor: I love my Barbie… She was the BEST present.

Me: [Awww! She loves her Christmas present…she’s actually grateful for the things we give her. Maybe this is a step toward not demanding more all the time…]

Eleanor: My Barbie is the BEST present I EVER picked out for myself.

Oh.

Well – she comes by it honestly. Here’s to a new generation of discerning women who would rather pick out their own presents.


The beat goes on…

The Women That Time Forgot

Angels spotted on Tom and Lorenzo last week.

Can you believe these women? I agree with the “Fabulous and Opinionated” experts in refusing to hear a word against their gorgeousness. They are AWESOME (and I rarely say awesome without irony).

Long before girls started saying they were “a Carrie” or “a Samantha” they claimed to be “a Sabrina” or “a Jill” (I myself, was always “a Kelly“). Charlie’s Angels made one of Hollywood’s first forays into TV narrative about strong women who (literally) kick ass.


Oh sure – the choreographed fight scenes were ridiculous and the they were all probably holding their guns wrong. But the idea that the girls could beat the boys was what mattered. The twist of them looking like supermodels just made it fun to watch and in all honesty, was the reason why anyone bothered to pay attention.


Feminists may disagree – but I’m okay with their objectification as sex symbols. Because as far as the characters themselves were concerned, their looks came second. You never saw much footage of Kelly blow drying her hair or Chris applying mascara. If they weren’t getting ready for an under cover assignment, they were on one. They had ambition, priorities and no apparent concern for whether they were good enough for a man. If some guy at a bar implied that Sabrina wasn’t his type, she’d probably just karate chop him in the neck and call it a day.

Charlie’s Angels showed us a group of beautiful women who were unexpected bad asses. They didn’t rely on their looks to get men. They relied on their looks to get men to underestimate them. Then they opened a can of whoop ass. These are women who used their hotness for good. And what could be wrong with that?

And now that they’re aging B list (if we’re being kind) starlets?

Personally? I don’t care if plastic surgery makes them look more like their wax museum counterparts. Wrinkles would be an abomination to their legacy (and speaking of legs – mine never looked that good in high school!). They should be immortalized in silicone. Angels are immortal after all…

And yes – this goes against pretty much everything I believe about aging gracefully. About women not feeling the need to change their looks to be acceptable to the rest of the world. But there is something about the Angels… There is a certain level of campy celebrity that not only allows for, but demands plastic perfection. An exception must be made for the Angels. And a selfish one at that since we’re not the ones who have to turn back the clock.

So I’d like to thank the Angels for staying young. For looking so fabulous.

If they’re willing to go to the trouble – to keep that image alive – then who am I to criticize. I’d rather just enjoy their enduring iconic celestial glow.

Happy Valentines Day!

Repeat from Wishing True today… But I just love it so much I don’t want anyone to miss it!

I found this adorable download on Inside a Black Apple years ago, and I always meant to feature it on Valentines day (first here, on The Big Piece of Cake and then on Wishing True) – but somehow it never happened.


The little blondie reminds me of my Eleanor.

Big sloppy virtual V-Day kisses to you and your own loves!

The Date

No – not that kind of date…I wish! (Chris and I do need to get out more.)

The “date” is the day that I will have my surgery: March 11. First thing in the morning so I don’t have hours to work myself up into a ball of anxiety. I’m such a sissy.

But like I said – at least I won’t be having to have alien abduction surgery (i.e. I don’t have to be awake during the procedure – like I did for my c-section). And it’s such a routine operation that I really can’t justify any high drama. I have women in my neighborhood who are battling breast and ovarian cancer. They’ve suffered painful exploratory surgeries, the removal of body parts and months of chemotherapy and radiation. I watched my mother go through all of that and more, and she did it all with humor and courage. All of them do. My situation is nothing in comparison and it would be insulting not to follow their lead.

I consider myself very lucky. Not only to be handed a very minor and fixable problem – but also to be surrounded by these beautiful warriors. They put my own fears into perspective and prove by example that I really can face anything that comes my way. We all can.

In the meantime – I have to remember to post more. No excuses since I’m now going for short and sweet.

So here’s what I’ve got for today:

Me: Okay George – remember what I said… If you want to go to preschool, you have to listen to your teacher. I don’t want to hear anything about you whining and crying today…

George: Okay Mom.

Me: Mrs. K is in charge and you need to follow directions. If she says that you spend the whole day whining and crying again, then you may need to stay home on Monday. So remember: listen to the teacher and NO whining or crying.

Eleanor: And no yelling either.

Me: Yes – no yelling.

Eleanor: And no fighting.

Me: That’s right – no fighting.

Eleanor: And no screaming or pushing or hitting or…

Me: …Let’s not set ourselves up for failure here. Just focus on “no whining or crying” okay?

Fingers crossed…