Not-So Desperate Housewife

2005-06-26T12:26:00.000-07:00

Right As Usual Logo

Posted by Hello

2005-06-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

Cleveland Spring Flower

Posted by Hello

NOTHING SUBSTANTIAL, JUST AN OPINION

2005-05-31T04:07:00.000-07:00

I just was watching morning television while waiting for a call from the sub center, and decided to comment on the style of female television journalists and commentators.

One journalist with an exceptional person style is Rene Syler. She makes curly hair look GOOD!

While Oprah Winfrey can be more than a little over-the-top, she has been a major influence on the full-figured women.

In Cleveland, lately, the newscasters have been doing the lingerie under the suit look, complete with boobies on display in the AM. At the most modest, it looks like this:

Which is still more skin than I want to see in the AM.

WARNING! - PUT DOWN THE COFFEE BEFORE CLICKING

2005-05-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

You've been warned! Don't click here before putting down the hot coffee. I won't be responsible for the mess, pain, and coffee stains on silk.

You'll see that ArmyWifeToddlerMom has been added to the Blogroll. That post about the Ninja Toddler would have qualified it for the list by itself.

SPRING CLEANING

2005-05-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

Some sites to check out:

Spring Cleaning - Tips & Tricks
Organized Home's collection of links
Spring Cleaning Tips
Spring Cleaning a la Testorone - a light-hearted look at the task

If you're a FlyLady or a FlyBaby, this is a good time to work on your Control Journal. Review it, and update as needed. What in your life has changed? Have you added or subtracted responsibilities or tasks? Have you taken on new projects?

A very influential book I read a few years ago is "Your Money or Your Life". There's a Web Site that helps people detach from the over-consumption that plagues our society. There is a study program, and many free resources on the site.

LIKE THE "KING OF SOUL" - I FEEL GOOD!

2005-05-07T12:58:00.000-07:00

Click the Title Link to get your very own James Brown calendar.

Why so GOOOOD?

My asthma meds have kicked in, and I can breathe.
I've been organizing, and I'm about 1/2-way through the urgent paperwork backlog.
Even though I'm bloated from the steroids, I still lost weight.
The weather is FABULOUS! Last month's snows have been followed by several weeks of rain, but today is dry and the garden is BLOOMING!

Despite some setbacks, I've managed to maintain a positive attitude (in great part thanks to the FlyLady web site. The emails are appreciated, even on the occasional day when I just delete it. I've learned, like Scarlett O'Hara, tomorrow is another day. And, if I make the effort to focus on the basics, and gradually dig my way out, I can lick the Housework Monster.

ANOTHER HOUSEWIFE BLOG

2005-04-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

I've been checking out other housewife blogs, and I wanted to let you know about a real winner - The Rebel Housewife.

She blogs, she's written a book, and she struggles with some of the same issues we all do - getting our homes under control. Truly, despite all the labor-saving devices in the world, our homes seem to be in worse shape than ever. A good part of that is that we have WAY too busy lives - many of us work, at least part-time, we chauffer kids (and sometimes grandkids), some of are so over-scheduled that we have to buy organizers just to try to keep up on our multiple responsibilities.

Sherri credits the Flylady site with giving her the most assistance in getting out from under the chaos, as I also do. If you aren't signed up for the daily emails, do so today. It's made a tremendous difference in my life.

SICK AGAIN

2005-04-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling under the weather lately. I posted, but on my other 2 blogs (and the family blog). This blog is taking more time than I thought it would.

Unfortunately, I've been treating it like a fluffy indulgence - easily avoided, not a priority. That's not what I intended.

So, I've drawn up a schedule that will have me updating at least 2 times a week. Due to work, I'll have to do a great deal of that writing off-line. But, I've taken on the responsibility of regular posting, so expect to see it from now on.

HOME AGAIN

2005-04-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

I didn't get called into work today, so I spent some time catching up on stuff. My taxes was high on my list, but I chose, instead, to procrastinate to the max.

As soon as I finish this post, I will, finally, get to work on the @#$%^&*($ taxes.

I've been good about the meal plan lately. Today, when I dressed, I noticed that the waistband of my skirt was getting loose. I remember that it wasn't too long ago that I couldn't even zip up this skirt. So, I'm quite happy.

Homemaking Tip: If you have crud that's hardened on the stove, don't chisel and scrape - just wet down a sponge, and place it over the spot for about 10 minute. It will soften the mess, and make wiping it up a breeze.

THE REAL DESPERATE HOUSEWIFE

2005-04-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

Maxine - the REAL desperate housewife

Say what you will about the over-the-top sexiness of Desperate Housewives, it's been a real shot in the arm to the egos of women staying at home. For many years, women like Maxine were the image people pictured when they heard the word "housewife".

Now, I'm not suggesting that we wear gold lamé dresses to scrub out the toilet, but, certainly, it makes a difference when we take the time to dress in a shirt & pants (not jeans), comb our hair and put on make-up. FlyLady makes this point on her site. A constant reminder is to PUT ON YOUR SHOES. With real shoes (not slippers) and a clean, neat appearance, we also function better.

Except for Gabriella, all of these women are dressed for housework. They are neat, accessorized, and ready to face the world.

Below, they are more dressed-down (except for Marcie Cross, who basically NEVER gets into the grunge look), but still appropriate.

A little too much skin on Nicolette, but otherwise OK.

Check out Glamour Do's and Don'ts for real-life examples, changed monthly.

STEPFORD DAYS

2005-04-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

Today my husband and I performed major surgery on the clutter in our house. As a result, I am sitting in my recliner, enjoying the cleared-out space.

I'm afraid that the urge to clean may have been fed, because I notice that I've been busy planning the other changes/improvements I can make over the next few weeks.

It is nice to see the improvement, however.

WE'VE GOT TO DO BETTER THAN THIS!

2005-03-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

What do the following celebrities have in common?

Reba McEntire (1955 -)
Dirk Bogarde (1921 - )
Dianne Wiest (1948 - )
Vince Vaughn (1970 - )
Edmund Muskie (1914 - 1996)
Click here for complete Biography
Zbigniew Brzezinski (1928 -)

They were all born on March 28th, just like me. This is depressing. I mean, with the exception of Reba, who is kinda cute, these are the least charismatic people I've ever heard of. And I don't even know who Vince Vaughn is!

Your assignment - starting about June 15th, and continuing for the next month or so, I want everybody who can to work on conceiving more exciting people. By this day 25 years from now, I want that list of people born today to SPARKLE!

No more tepid celebrities! Just lots of exciting, creative, FUN people!

Update - I knew there had to be more interesting people than the above.

From ThinkExist
St. Teresa of Avila
A lot of writers I never heard of - hey, that's like me!
Russell Banks, writer (at least I've read his stuff)
Julia Styles (now we're talking - and, just like me, she's cute)
August Anheuser Busch, Jr. (I may have a beer on that one)
Lucy Lawless (I may kick some a$$ on that one)

OK, I'm feeling a little better about this, but I still am holding everyone to the assignment.

MIDWAY THROUGH A THOROUGH CLEANING

2005-03-27T12:31:00.000-08:00

I started off Thursday on a strong note. I cleared out a caseful of old videotapes, and sorted them into several stacks:

Classics
Business-related
Educational/school
Fitness
Family/personal

I'm left with about 30 tapes that appear to be blank/partly used/unimportant. However, I need to go through them to make sure, before I consign them to the tape-over stack.

So, I'll be spending some time this weekend watching old tapes. I have a strong feeling that this may be a weekend I get seriously sidetracked (not hard for a S.H.E.).

YIPPEE! A DAY AT HOME

2005-03-23T05:06:00.000-08:00

I didn't get called in to sub today, as I just returned from an out-of-town funeral. So, I'll finally have a "free" day to clean up. I just have to discipline myself enough to get going, and stay off the computer long enough to clear out the backlog of junk.

If you haven't done so, check out the FlyLady web site. It's probably done the most to move me from apathetic and disorganized to beginning to get on top of the mountain of chaos I'd managed to surround myself with.

They have an easy-to-follow program for control, an email daily reminder list that really helps, and various resources that are nifty. I don't use their famous feather duster, but that's because I have a MAJOR feather allergy.

The program divides your home into zones that you concentrate on each week. By focusing on a single area, and doing minimal cleaning otherwise, you gradually make progress. This week's zone is the Master Bedroom.

Some thoughts from the site:

many of us have the same fundamental problems: we don't pick up after ourselves, we don't get dressed unless we have to, and we procrastinate

That was me. I still tend to fall into that pattern of behavior, and it really helps to have the daily reminders. When an occasional crisis hits, like a death in the family, I can always do what I did - hit the delete key on the messages, and don't even read them until my life calms down again. Then, when I am ready, I just pick up the routine again.

Funny thing, even though I deliberately took myself off the daily readings, I had clearly built some routines. Every day, I took care of things that 6 months or a year ago, I would have left undone. Over time, I have developed some good house habits.

A HOUSEWIFE JUST LIKE ME

2005-03-17T14:49:00.000-08:00

I Googled "housewife", and (after filtering out all the porn) found Then Again, by Mary Beth Hicks, who confesses:

When it comes to photos, there are two kinds of parents: those who take pictures and those of us who ask other parents to snap pictures of our kids and send them to us if they get the chance.

Yup, that's me. I'm better now that I have access to digital cameras, but I still manage to lose the cameras (somewhere in the house is a webcam, very small).

Another column:

A truism about bickering is: The intensity of the argument increases disproportionately with the importance of the subject. Ergo, the topic that causes the most vitriolic -- albeit empty -- bickering is the seating arrangement in the van. Seriously.

Anyone with more than one child knows what I'm talking about.

And that's the crux of the issue. Multiple children. Mothers of one can't relate. Even mothers of two have limits on the fussing - partly because they haven't reached the magic numbers of 3 or more.

At that point, I realized, they outnumber you and your husband.

And, they have added the 3-dimensional game of 2 against 1. The teams switch players occasionally, but the game continues.

I consoled myself for years that it was good preparation for office politics.

Funnily, it turned out to be just that. My kids are not dismayed by encountering someone who is "out to get them" - been there, done that.

As adults, they generally get along. They fuss, but they also have great times together.

I MAY BE OVER-BOOKED

2005-03-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning to feel like a Martha Stewart - on steroids. Not in the area of housekeeping, but in blogging.

I've created several blogs:

The main one - Right As Usual - which I post to regularly
Technology in Teaching - less regular posting, but I am working on setting up a schedule for updates
The Family site - VERY irregular at present
Not-So Desparate Housewife - created, but few posts, as yet

It's easy to see why I post most regularly to Right as Usual. Just about every one of my posts is created because I'm in a state of venting about current topics. They are written fast, and get stuff off my chest.

But I feel that the other blogs are important, as well. So, I will be making a greater effort to post regularly.

For this blog, I will commit to at least once a week posting for now.

AN OLD IDEA THAT IS WORTH RE-VISITING

2005-03-04T23:37:00.000-08:00

As I'm sitting here in the middle of the night, I'm wrapped in a shawl I knitted this winter.

Shawls are an accessory that us Yankees should take up again. They were popular in the pre-20th century, but fell out of fashion - probably about the time central heating became a common feature in most new homes. Occasionally, fashionistas will revive alternative styles (poncho, scarves, shrugs, etc.), but the classic triangle or half-circle type that drapes over the shoulders and upper arms is both easy to make, and comfortable, as well.

The link in the title takes you to a site that shows the classic Paisley shawls of the Victorian ers.

I invented the style I'm wearing now (similar to the type pictured above):

It's approximately 6 feet from side to side, and covers from neck to just below the waist.

I made it as simple to knit as possible:

For 5-6 rows, use large needles and a popcorn-type stitch (alternate knitting and purling, every other row). Then, knit 2, purl 2, decreasing at the ends gradually. You have to play around with how much to decrease it, until you get the shape you want. When complete, it should cover your upper arms, back, and as much of the forearms as you want to - be a little generous with the width, you can adjust the drape. The ribs give it a relaxed fit.

It's great for sedentary work, which makes it ideal for updating your blog.

The trick for making a comfortable shawl is to make it a loose knit, which traps body heat, but isn't bulky or heavy.

THIS BLOG HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING

2005-03-04T02:36:00.000-08:00

Bree is my husband's favorite. She's cool, competent, and red-headed (as am I - OK, at least that last part).

If you'd asked me (or probably anyone else in America) whether this show would even be started, let along last longer than 3 episodes, we'd have weighed in heavily on the negative. The day of the housewife seemed as dead as the dodo.

But, surprise, it's an outrageous hit!

So, what's the attraction to the admittedly retro show? Well, I can think of several things:

It does provide a non-child (I can't honestly call it adult) humor situation, based on stuff that kids will not generally find funny.
The "housewives" are sensational-looking.
Their lives are emotionally complicated, but nicely cleaned and decorated.
The problems they face are so far outside normal reality, it provides a break from RL - blackmail, murder, home prostitution, etc. This is as far from "reality" as "The Amazing Race" and "Survivor".
The clothes - even the frumpiest are color-coordinated. And their hair never needs washing.
They have paid helpers. I want that!
They never seem to clean house! But, their homes are always clean! How do they do that?
Better, how do they persuade their husbands to pay for the domestic help?
Not to mention the cost of the face and body lifts. Those non-droopy body parts don't come cheap!

Well, I have many more questions and comments, but I need to get ready for my temp job, so come back tomorrow.