6710 Grand

I read an article recently about an actress (I think she was one of the Disney princesses) who said she didn't let her daughters watch certain Disney movies because of the message it sends.  No Cinderella--don't wait for a man to rescue you.  Rescue yourself!  No Snow White--it's not OK for a man to kiss a women while she's sleeping or without her permission.  No Little Mermaid--don't give up your voice for a man! On the one hand--I totally get it and really appreciate the difference Disney has made in the way their heroines are portrayed.  Moanna is a strong gal.  Rapunzel looks out for herself without emasculating her man.  Mulan is fully prepared to go against gender roles and fight for her family honor and her country.  Tianna is a hard working woman who knows what she wants and goes after it.  BAM!  Those are my kind of ladies! But I also think we have to remember the time during which Cinderella and Snow White were written and ...

Nick's head is full of what even he calls useless information.  He kills  at the 2000's edition of Trivial Pursuit.  If one could make a solid living as a trivia expert, he'd be a billionaire.  Movies, pop culture, music, movie trailers, celebrity gossip--he's in the KNOW.  I was shocked when last week I saw the teaser for the live action Aladdin movie before he even knew it was out.  (We've now watched it a dozen times and Bebo calls it the "scary lion".) He loves movie trailers.  He is forever making me watch them--sometimes I'm interested.  Many times not.  A while ago he told me that me asking him to watch a recipe video was like him asking me to watch a movie trailer... touche.  Sometimes this useless information comes in handy.  Just this week we were talking about Iris and all of the instruments she's playing.  There was a movie I thought she might like but couldn't think of the name.  "What's that movie with ...

Fall.  It's FINALLY here!  It's grey and gloomy, damp and a bit rainy, colorful, crisp--just PERFECT!  These are my absolute favorite days.  The kind where I want to curl up with a cup of coffee and a good book.  What better books to read in October than Halloween themed books!  I started one last week called Fundraising the Dead .  A mystery about a development director?  WHAT???  So perfect for me!  Or so I thought. Humph.  Not so much.  I'm just about a quarter of the way through and I'm not sure I have the stomach for it.  First, the main character is having an affair with the executive director of the museum she fundraises for.  Um, bad idea.  He might be (as described) gorgeous and suave but let's just not go there.  Maybe I have my head in the sand and this happens a lot.  I hope not. But the real kicker for me is her attitude about fundraising.  She specifically refers to it as "beggi...

I hate extracurricular after-school activities.  HATE them.  They're going to KILL me.  Why oh why do my children need to play multiple instruments and sports?  WHY is there such a thing as an after school art club?  I don't understand. It was not like this when I was a child.  Sure I did Girl Scouts (mostly for the camping), but we met right after school and the meetings were AT the school so I could just walk home (we did that back then).  I played softball for a couple of seasons--and walked--and practice was once per week with only ONE game a month.  I really wanted to do gymnastics so I went (walked!) to the YWCA on Saturdays.  I was driven to piano lessons but would have happily given those up if mom and dad were too busy. Not now--oh no.  Now, we must be driven to all things and none of them are right after school...which is probably better because if they were my kids wouldn't be able to do that anyway.  Now they're all ...