Brave Girl? Or Bratty Teen?

This past weekend, we caught "Brave" at the drive-in theater. I was looking forward to it because I'm such a huge fan of Pixar movies. Unfortunately, I didn't feel that this movie lived up to its hype. After it was touted as a movie that *finally* featured a feisty, heroic female lead (although what the heck was "Mulan", then, if not that??), I was expecting something similar to Mulan-- girl casting off gender roles and bravely joining the front lines in battle to protect her family or engage in some risky quest or something.

To an extent, this movie did portray a feisty girl refusing to conform to gender norms, especially in the ancient patriarchal age in which she lives. Our "heroine" Merida refuses to simply be "given" in marriage to someone she's never even met before, and watching her trounce the would-be suitors was hilarious.

But what I didn't find so entertaining was the way she came off as she fought against these gender roles. She came off sounding like a bratty teenager. When she argued with her mother, it was all about "me, me, me", and she refused to even hear her mother's viewpoint or try to reason with her in a mature way. You could say that mother was partly to blame as well, for being equally stubborn and refusing to listen to her daughter, and you could chalk Merida's antics up to typical teenage angst. Certainly you can find plenty of modern-day teenage girls who have fights exactly like this, with their own mothers. But does that make Merida a role model? I don't really think so. Maybe it serves an accurate portrayal of the stereotypical teenage-parent relationship, but I hardly see how that's anything to emulate or be proud of, or worse yet, glorify in the manner of the movie's marketing.

What also bothered me a lot was that she didn't simply run away so she could make something of herself in the world and live independently and prove her parents wrong. No, she believed that only by manipulating her mother could she get what she wanted. So... she didn't try to reason with her mother like an adult, and she didn't try to simply get away from her "oppressive" family so she could forge her own life. Instead, she resorted to magic and trickery and deceit. Yup, great life lessons there.

The rest of the plot was surprising, as well. Not quite the straightforward battle I was expecting, and I did like how the story turned into more of an introspective battle rather than a physical fight. But through it all, it still grated on me how Merida cast blame on everyone else for the dire situation she found herself in. Everyone but the one true person who shouldered 100% of the responsibility: herself. It only intensified my view of her as a completely self-centered and bratty teenager, and made it VERY hard to relate to her or empathize with her plight in any way.

All in all, it was a decent movie that had its cute and funny and even poignant moments, and is certainly enjoyable enough. But I feel this movie was way overhyped and disappoints greatly in its promise to showcase a strong, independent female lead. In the end, I found her spoiled whinging and self-centeredness no less irritating than a dainty princess staking her identity on her one true love.

Come on, Disney. You can do better than that.

Karaoke Ring of Death: Summer Fun!

I'm looking out my window as I type this, and can't help but feel somewhat depressed by the dreary, foggy, cloudy, cool weather that hits Santa Barbara every year-- the dreaded "June Gloom". Come on, we just had graduation this past weekend, it's supposed to be SUMMER, for cryin' out loud!

Well, in anticipation of summer, this month's KROD theme was songs containing the word "summer". And yes, it was cool and dreary when I recorded my version, but I wasn't going to let that stop me! :-)

This month, I'm again hosting Kanriah of One Red Wall, as she sings "Springsteen" by Eric Church. I will have to thank her for introducing me to a country artist I hadn't really heard much of, and whose music I'll have to try to explore further.

To laugh at me decked out in summer gear despite gray skies while I belt out a summer classic, head on over to Dave's blog: http://littlearrowshurt.blogspot.com/2012/06/krod-summer-songs.html

And, as always, the master list can be found here: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/junes-master-list/

To Skip or to Hold Back

I was reading an article about a proposal in the UK to raise the school starting (kindergarten) age from 5 to 6. Now, I realize that the British and American educational systems are disparate enough that relating this to our country is akin to comparing apples to oranges. But the basic premise behind this proposal still stands-- are children starting school at too young an age? This article followed on the heels of another one I'd also read this morning-- To Skip a Grade or Hold a Child Back?

In a nutshell, I believe the answer is really "it depends". Depends on the child, depends on his school, depends on the parents, depends on the resources available. And ultimately, I would like to think that this sort of decision is based on the child's best interest: i.e. his/her readiness for it, both socially and academically. I thought this was a no-brainer.

Silly me.

As I started reading the comments on the British article, I was appalled by how many people related stories of friends/family/acquaintances who held their children back not because the kids weren't ready, but because they wanted their kids to be the oldest/biggest in their class, thereby giving them an edge in sports.

WTF!? THAT is your priority!? That has nothing to do with the child's best interests and everything to do with a parent's ego and selfish pride. I cannot fathom that there are parents out there who would willingly hamper a child's education for the sole reason that they want the kid to be bigger than his classmates!? Are they raising bullies or something?? Mind-boggling.

Besides, being the biggest in your class isn't always a good thing. Hubby went through school at the normal ages, but during his freshman year of high school, he was already 6'4" (i.e. the size of a senior, even taller), despite being only 14. First day of sophomore year, someone asks him, in all seriousness, "What are YOU still doing here!?" This also explains why, all throughout high school, people would speak more sloowwwly and more LOUDLY to him ;-)

My own son started kindergarten at age 4, simply because he was ready for it. Not just academically, but, more importantly, socially. We were fortunate enough to find a local private school that had absolutely no qualms about taking on early starters. Turns out-- he wasn't even the only 4-year-old in the class! He's now in 4th grade, and really blossoming, growing socially while making new friends of all ages-- from 1st graders through 5th graders.

On the other hand, one of Todd's preschool classmates actually started kindergarten late-- at age 6 instead of 5. His mother felt that he was not ready for kindergarten, either socially or academically, and I believe she made the right decision. Had she forced him into kindergarten at the prescribed age, he probably would've either been too frustrated or too disruptive-- affecting not only himself, but his classmates. For him, being held back a year was the correct choice, and he seems to be thriving in school now.

Two completely different decisions made on the basis of the exact same thing: what's best for the kid right now? And that's the way it should be. I'm still shaking my head at this "I'll hold my kid back so he'll be bigger" mentality, because that's NOT in the kid's best interest! Sigh... humanity. I worry about it often.

Karaoke Ring of Death: 80's, baby!

May flew by in a flash! Started off with my birthday on the 2nd, before I knew it, it was my son's birthday on the 20th, and time for another round of Karaoke Ring of Death!

The theme for May is 80's songs, which certainly didn't make it easy to narrow down a choice! There were so many I remembered from my junior high school days!

This month I'm hosting Heather of Musings of a Girl. Heather, I believe, is the one who first introduced me to KROD, indirectly, earlier this year. She left a comment on my friend Tabitha's blog about it, my curiosity was piqued, I got a link to the main KROD blog, and the rest, as they say, was history :-)

Today Heather treats us to "Lost In Your Eyes" by the iconically-80's Debbie Gibson... and a cappella on top of that! Awesome!

My own 80's choice was inspired by the recent "Prom-asaurus" episode of Glee. I'm nowhere near as good as Dianna Agron or Naya Rivera, but I had fun learning it and giving it a go. You can find my video on Jes's blog: http://jesgettingstarted.blogspot.com/2012/05/gleeking-out-to-80s.html

And, as always, the master list with everyone's songs can be found here: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/mays-master-list/

Happy listening, and enjoy your trip down memory lane! :-)

Head in the Sand

People are ignorant about different things. And that's perfectly fine. Nobody can know EVERYTHING there is to know in/about the world. And often times, people outright choose to remain ignorant about certain topics, such as current events or politics, maybe even celebrity gossip. Maybe it's just apathy. That is certainly their right, their choice. Nobody can force someone to keep abreast of something they're not interested in.

But where I draw the line is outright FLAUNTING this... willful ignorance. How is that sort of thing anything to be proud of!? I mean, hell, it's bad enough when you choose to bury your head in the sand about relatively important issues in the world, but it's downright shameful to act so high and mighty about it.

I read so many examples of this on STFU, Parents-- often times, it's parents who pooh-pooh the latest breaking news in favor of more important things, obviously: their kids. Stuff like "Oh, I didn't know Osama bin Laden was killed today, I was too busy watching babby take her first steps!". Really? You couldn't have just said "Babby took her first steps today", you had to include the fact that you not only missed the top news story of the day, but you were PROUD of it?

I mean, it's one thing to steer clear of things like trashy gossip. But even then, there is a polite way to express your abstinence from such things. If I said to you "Hey, did you hear about the latest Kim Kardashian escapade?" and you responded with "No, I don't give a FLYING FUCK about the Kardashians"-- I'm sorry, but that's downright RUDE. Let alone if the question was about something a little more edifying, like a statement the President made. It doesn't matter that you have totally valid reasons for not caring about the Kardashians or the President or the election or the stock market or gay marriage rights, you don't have to make such a big deal about this apathy. Just politely say "No, I don't follow X" and move on.

Is that so hard!? Why must apathy be worn as a badge of pride these days??

Karaoke Ring of Death: Duets!

This month's Karaoke Ring of Death theme was duets. I'm really excited to see what my fellow KROD-ers are going to come up with, since this is supposed to broaden the scope of who's singing (roping in a partner) or maybe employ some creative means to get around the lack of a partner.

Today I present to you Carolina of http://www.carolinathinks.com, traversing the high/low vocal extremes of "You Don't Know Me":

As for me-- I was all set to go solo (duo?) and sing a duet with myself, something I've actually done before, but fortunately, my karaoke buddy/partner in crime Nick came to the rescue so we could record one of our standards that we always perform at our local karaoke joints. You can catch us on Sandy's blog at: http://sandywessel.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-krod.html

The master list, with a link to everyone's blogs/videos, can be found at the main KROD blog: 
http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/april-master-list/

That Vintage Vibe

I don't know why, but I've been on a real vintage/retro/rockabilly kick lately. Basically, I'm still going strong after Tabitha and I began our online dress shopping spree. Since then, I've uncovered several other websites that focus on vintage inspired fashion, many at reasonable prices, such as Dress 911, Lace Affair, The Stylish Boutique, and eShakti. 

It began when I discovered ModCloth, and immediately snapped up a couple dresses I thought would look good on my oddly-shaped/proportioned frame:

The classic 1950's soda fountain dress, which ended up being REALLY figure-flattering (even if the shoulders were a bit tight).

And moving on to more of a 60's mod look, a houndstooth-print dress which also fit well, even without a sash or belt, which I typically need on dresses to cinch the waist:

I really like the looks of a lot of the styles showcased on these vintage-inspired sites: a good mix of modesty and modern flirtiness. A lot of the cuts work well for my body type, too, since mine is not the type that's designed to show a lot of cleavage, and so many contemporary style dresses (at least, the ones that are more fun and less... dowdy) seem to aim for that.

Then! Several dress purchases later came the pièce de résistance: a lovely little cherry-print rockabilly number that fit me perfectly EVERYWHERE (a rarity in a dress-- usually there's at least ONE problem area that could use a better fit, whether it's my chest or my shoulders or waist):

Not only that, but it perfectly epitomizes that pinup, rockabilly look I'm currently enamored with. Oh, I don't fully complete the whole ensemble-- my hair is still my ordinary hair and makeup is still nonexistent save for very special occasions. But wearing that dress makes me feel feminine, flirty and fun!

So now I have my eye on the next dishy thing: that same style dress, in polka dots! What could spell "retro" more than polka dots!?

 

Like I said-- I'm really digging the retro/vintage look. I love how the styles of yesteryear accentuated a woman's assets without being overly trashy. Sexy yet classy. And I love how the modern take on some of these vintage styles retains a lot of that while still adding a bit of contemporary flair to it. 

How about you? What's your style?

Karaoke Ring of Death: Funny Songs

It's that time of month again! No, something more pleasant than THAT :-P I had such a blast breaking into the Karaoke Ring of Death last month that I decided to have fun with it again this month!

This month's theme was "funny songs", which can range the gamut from songs that personally tickle your funny bone to outright parodies!

And this month I am fortunate to feature the lovely Kanriah of One Red Wall, singing "Mood Rings" by Relient K. I will admit-- I had never heard (of) this song before, so I Google'd the lyrics so I could follow along as she sang. And OMG-- I laughed. Because that song really captures the puzzlement I often feel about women whose emotional roller coasters and lack of straightforward communication leave some very befuddled men in their wake. In most situations, I wind up sympathizing with the man when that happens, so hey-- I'm all for mandating a universal "mood ring" that can help decode what some of these women are thinking!

Oh and also-- doesn't her hair look great? She reminds me of my friend Amanda, a natural redhead whose lovely locks were just one of her many assets :-)

To hear my take on the "funny songs" theme, head on over to Dave's blog: http://littlearrowshurt.blogspot.com/2012/03/make-me-laugh.html

And to see the master list, check out the main KROD blog: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/march-master-list/

Fashion Woes

A few weeks ago, Tabitha and I went on some shopping sprees together. No, we never physically set foot in any stores together, but, armed with a web browser, high-speed internet connection, and IM client, we browsed the cyberstores together, sharing finds and getting each others' opinions. It was actually a lot of fun! We each ended up buying quite a few things from different stores, and excitedly shared our purchases with each other as they arrived in the mail.

I'm not sure how the shopping spree started, but the focus was on dresses and skirts and more fun, feminine things to wear when the weather warms up. I was a bit skeptical of ordering clothes online, because I typically have to try on clothes before buying them, but some of these outfits were too cute to pass up, and the online stores had pretty reasonable return/exchange policies, so I took a chance.

You see, I have a notoriously difficult body size/shape to work with. I am almost always between sizes, and dresses are the worst-- they almost always fit well in one spot, and not so well in another. My bust and waist lead me to smaller-size dresses, yet my shoulders and hips (thanks to baby belly!) lean more towards medium. So a dress either fits my chest/midsection well but my arms can't move because the shoulders/armpit area is too tight, or it fits fine around my shoulders but hangs loosely around the bust/waist area. Can't win! Sashes/belts help, but are not always the solution.

Bras are another "fun" thing to shop for, something I am sure many women can sympathize with! I don't think there's anywhere on the female body with more variation than breast size, so I'm not even going to get into that rant. Suffice it to say that us less-well-endowed girls are a neglected corner of the brassier market :-P

Pants/jeans are irksome, too, especially in this day and age when "low-rise" is so popular. I have long legs, so pants that fit my waist are almost always too short, but pants at the right inseam length are too big around the waist! Don't even get me started on skinny jeans, where the low-rise phenomenon is even more prevalent!

Even shirts can be troublesome, though less often so than dresses, bras, or jeans. My arms are longer than average for my body size, so often times, either a shirt/sweater fits perfectly all over but but has too-short arms, or everything just hangs baggily (<-- is that a word??) 

Shoes can be a challenge for me because I have wide feet, and the majority of shoes that I'm interested in do not come in wide sizes. *Sob* On the flip side, when a shoe does fit my feet, it tends to look decent on me, no matter how weird-looking the shoe. I remember once when my mom and I went shoe shopping, and just for fun, she had me try one some of the chunkier or higher-platform shoes-- shoes that looked pretty wacky by themselves. To her surprise, they didn't look quite so wacky on my feet! So... chalk up one plus?

Hats are also another universal fit, it seems. When Allan and I were browsing a hat shop in Vegas last December, he jokingly put a big, floppy, garish, lampshade-type hat on my head, in an effort to find something to make me look silly. Seems it backfired on him, and even the most outlandish hats the store had (i.e. stuff clearly meant for costumes) didn't look quite so outrageous on my head. Go figure, as I hardly ever wear hats! Maybe I should start doing so :-P

Anyway, now you can see why, up till now, my outfits consisted largely of straight-leg Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and either turtlenecks or button-down shirts. Standard office wear for a small fish lost in a cubicle sea of fellow nerds.

But now I'm venturing out into the world of more feminine wear, and am slowly figuring things out on that front. Being in an office full of women has certainly inspired me, as has my latest shopping sprees/online window shopping with Tabitha.

She also introduced me to the idea of wearing dresses with tights and cardigans, thus making them more winter-friendly, as well. Next thing I knew, I had not only amassed a handful of dresses (which actually fit surprisingly decently), but I'd also bought tights in almost every color imaginable. Pull out the skirts I'd put away when summer ended, and I now have a plethora of items from which to mix and match!

And since I don't know the first thing about style or fashion (beyond being aware of what types of outfits do NOT fit my physique, and avoiding them), I thought I'd start up a pinboard with my own little mix-n-match combinations.

From the formulation of abstract ideas on Polyvore: http://hellykwee.polyvore.com/

To the actual wearing of these ideas on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/hellykwee/helly-s-personal-style/

What are your ideas/thoughts/feedback?

Karaoke Ring of Death: Legendary Singers

A few weeks ago I read a comment on my friend Tabitha's blog about something called the Karaoke Ring of Death, and my curiosity was piqued. Tabitha sent me the link to their main group blog, and I was further intrigued by the concept.

Basically, every month a group of bloggers records themselves doing a song based on that month's particular theme. For February, the theme was "legendary singers". After that, we all get assigned to host someone else's video on our blog, which leads my readers to that person's blog. That person, in turn, hosts yet another blogger, and so on. By the time you follow all the links through the karaoke postings, you will end up back where you started, hence a Karaoke Ring. Neat concept, isn't it?

It sounded like a lot of fun, and since I love doing karaoke both online and offline, I decided to hop on the bandwagon and dust the cobwebs off my trusty Blue Snowball mic.

And, without further ado, I present to you Dave from http://littlearrowshurt.blogspot.com/, doing Ray Charles, whom I agree, is quite the legendary singer!





To hear my song, head on over to Edwin's blog: http://myadultbrain.com/?p=186

And if you want to see the master list, check out the main KROD blog: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/februarys-legendary-master-list/

Enjoy! :-)

What makes a good karaoke experience? Part 3

Earlier this year, I blogged about what I felt was the key ingredient in making a successful karaoke experience (and keeping people coming back to your venue for more): a good karaoke DJ (KJ).

A couple months after that, I added another story that only proved that point further, lamenting about how a poor KJ can really put a damper on a fun karaoke night.

Well, last night, despite a really small turnout of friends and a relatively quiet night at the bar, was probably one of the best karaoke experiences I'd ever had, and it was largely thanks to the KJ. The usual KJ, our beloved G-Man (whose praises I sang in my previous post linked above), was absent that night, and his young protege, Brian, was standing in for him.

I've been to OTT on nights where Brian subbed for G-Man, and always found him a relatively pleasant and unassuming guy. He was still learning the ropes, so we were all patient with him. But now, evidently, he's had enough experience to become more confident and start applying his own style to the KJ-ing. And it's refreshing!

One of the first things I noticed when the singing started was that he was gracious enough, upon seeing a few of us regulars, to immediately put us in the rotation and encourage us to sing, rather than get on stage himself. Now, I think it's perfectly acceptable for a KJ to start the night off with a song, especially when there are so few people in the bar. It's a good way to break the ice and get things going. And Brian tends to be pretty fun and entertaining on stage. But he didn't-- he chose to let us take the lead instead.

The next thing-- and this was really huge-- was that the volume was at a manageable level. Much as I love G-Man, I never go into OTT without earplugs onhand, because he cranks up the volume way too loud! Not Brian. It was loud enough for the entire bar to hear and enjoy, but not so loud that we were overwhelmed. Not once did I have to put on my earplugs that night. My friends and I didn't have to yell at the top of our lungs in order to converse. And best of all, the reasonable volume enabled Allan to actually stay in the bar for over an hour, where he got to hear all of us sing a few songs-- some of which are his favorites :-)

I noticed that every time a new song began, Brian would come out onto the dance floor and stand there for a few seconds, obviously listening to the speakers and gauging the sound level. At first I thought he was seeing if the microphone level was turned up high enough, but it turns out that he was gauging the OVERALL volume and adjusting accordingly-- turning it down for especially loud songs. I thought that was pretty awesome of him, to take the time to adjust the volume on EVERY single song so that it wouldn't overwhelm the bar.

On top of all that, he was just generally a really sweet and friendly person, making small talk when regulars came up to say hi, that sort of thing.

So-- thank you, Brian! For making our karaoke experience one of the best and most enjoyable to date. G-Man picked the perfect guy to sub for him, and I hope we see you around more often-- whether you're managing the karaoke equipment or simply hanging out at the bar, a fun-loving patron like the rest of us :-)

Royal Flatulence?

My friend Tabitha reposted an anecdote that her mom shared, about an amusing typo that showed up on the lyrics screen of a Christmas concert she attended. When the choir sang "Silent Night", the following appeared on the screen:

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beans from Thy holy face ...

Which, of course, made her (and readers of that anecdote) giggle!

That story reminded me of something Allan said long ago, about a song that our worship team frequently sings at church during Sunday services. It's called "Mighty to Save" and part of the lyrics go like this:

Shine your light and let the whole world see,
We're singing for the glory of the risen King...

Allan swears that the last line sounds like "lizard king" instead of "risen king". So now, everytime we hear (about) that song, I remind Allan: "Hey, it's the Lizard King song!"

Naturally, these two stories combined inspired me to create a cartoon drawing of a crown-wearing lizard with shining beans emanating from its face. Here is the end result:

So now the bigger question is: do lizard kings get gassy from all those radiant beans??

Ah, (gassy) lizard kings and radiant beans... that's the stuff Christmas is made of! ;-)

Holiday Parade Gone Awry

The annual holiday parade along State Street, the main thoroughfare of downtown Santa Barbara, is an event I normally don't bother with. It's cold, it's crowded, parking is hard to come by, traffic is horrendous, and eating establishments are jam-packed. Not exactly my idea of a fun night out. Still, it's no trouble braving all that when you're actually participating IN the parade, as Todd and I did 2 years ago with his karate class.

This year, his school had a float in the parade, and his class (the 3rd/4th graders) dressed up in cute little tuxes and sat in the float, waving colorful lights and singing Christmas songs they'd learned in choir. They looked so cute and excited at the staging area before the parade began, and they were buzzing about the money the school would get if their float impressed the judges enough to win a prize!

Before the first float took off, Allan and I made our way down the street towards the finish line, since we'd signed up to help with the cleanup efforts afterward. Previous experience had taught us that the streets can be hard to navigate once the parade is underway, so we thought we'd get a head start. So, we didn't actually get to see the float traveling down the street, or hear the kids sing.

Instead, we were greeted at the finish line-- with a float full of unhappy and dejected kids. One of the girls was crying, and the older boys were jumping out, eagerly telling their parents: "They were cussing at us!" The boys, at least, treated it more like an "OMG, can you BELIEVE what they did!?" moment, but they were clearly subdued and no longer the shining, happy faces at the start of the parade.

At first I thought that because it was a Christian school, the hecklers were making fun of that. But evidently, the generator powering the lights and the stereo playing background music cut out a couple times (leaving the kids to sing a cappella in the dark) during the parade, which is what provoked the jeers. According to Todd, one onlooker yelled: "What the [f-word]!? You guys suck!" Another kid told his dad about "the S-word". Admittedly, the float looked a bit ramshackle to begin with. It certainly wasn't going to win any beauty contests. But the kids were happy and excited nonetheless, and looking forward to the event, and my heart breaks when I think of these uncouth punks making fun of them with their foul mouths.

You might say that kids will be exposed to this sort of thing someday anyway, and you may well be right. But that doesn't excuse what happened, nor does it assuage my indignation over the whole thing. It's bad enough to openly jeer at anyone, especially somebody who's struggling to do their best. Even worse when that "somebody" is a group of innocent children. I mean, seriously-- what sort of heartless soul cusses at children!?

Still makes me mad when I think about it.... 

Friday Five: Brrrrrr!

NaBloPoMo 2011 may be officially over, but I'm hoping to continue the trend of blogging a bit more frequently, now that I'm more inspired and have gotten into the habit. It actually felt strange last night, knowing I didn't have to sit at the computer and churn out a post before the day was over. Of course, I say this same thing every year, and then I wind up petering out, posting MAYBE once a month (if that) before gearing up for another 30-day flurry. Ah well. New Year's resolution, perhaps? (not that I believe in them)

So let's start things off easy with another round of Friday Five! Today's theme? The cold weather!

1. What’s your favorite thing about cold weather?
2. Soups and hot beverages seem to be everyone’s favorite cold-weather culinary combatant, but what’s another food that seems to take the bite out of the cold?
3. When the weather is just starting to turn cold but is not yet in full frigidity, what do you add to your bed until it’s time to break out the heavy artillery? (I said what, not whom!)
4. What household chore seems especially unkind in these colder months?
5. Among people you know, who seems most oblivious to cold weather?

1.Um... nothing?? That's why I live in Southern California, and in particular, Santa Barbara, with its Mediterranean climate yielding nice, mild temperatures all year round. It's especially satisfying when I read the FB statuses of friends who live in less gentle climes, fretting about snow and ice and sub-zero temperatures, and I can serenely look out the window at the beach and the sun-kissed palm trees ;-)

2. The reason soup and hot chocolate or tea works so well is precisely BECAUSE it's heat in liquid form, and therefore spreads the warmth faster! I can't really think of anything else that would do the trick quite as well or as efficiently. Maybe piping-hot fresh bread?

3. I don't add anything to the bed (since I use the same medium-thick comforter all year round-- like I said, stable, mild temperatures!) but when there's a chill in the air, I will switch out pajamas. In summer I wear short-sleeve/short-pant pajamas, in cooler weather I'll wear flannel pajamas, and in winter? Time to break out the fleece pajamas!

4. Gardening. I enjoy working under the sun, tending to my garden. But overcast weather makes that less enjoyable. Not to mention, it's harder to dig weeds out without uprooting my whole garden when the ground is moist.

5. My husband :-P Seriously. The guy will wear shorts on all but the coldest of days. If I see him wearing his jeans, socks and shoes, and his light jacket, I know I'd better bundle up in multiple layers, scarves, gloves and maybe a balaclava hood

How about you?

On Friendship and Traveling Pants

I just finished reading the "Traveling Pants" series-- a set of 4 books that began with "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants", and follows 4 friends and their summer adventures throughout high school and the first year of college. I will admit that by the 4th book, the story line is pretty predictable: girl wrestles with something tumultuous, doubts herself, and then figures it out and all is well with the world again by the end of the story. Still, since they are sequels, it's nice to see the characters develop and some of the original story lines continue.

Anyway, the thing that struck me the most about this book was the enduring friendship of the 4 main characters-- girls who were all born around the same time, and who have been friends their whole lives. No matter what happened with their lives, no matter what they did, that friendship always transcended everything, and served as their lifeline when they were adrift. Your friends are always there for you, willing to drop everything to come to your aid when you most need it.

It struck me that I'd never HAD that kind of friendship before. These days, my husband is my best friend, of course, and we relate to each other as best friends do. But... that's sort of the way it's supposed to be. Yet for me, such close friendships outside of my marriage simply do not exist. Oh sure, I've had plenty of friends that know me reasonably well and that I have fun hanging out with. But I've never really had a close girlfriend. One that I could confide the deepest recesses of my soul in, one that I could just feel comfortable being myself with-- the good, the bad, and the ugly.

It makes me a bit wistful when I read books or see movies where such close friendships are a prevalent part of the story. I guess, in a way, it's romanticizing something I've never had, something I sometimes long for. And it's a big part of why I enjoyed the Traveling Pants books-- the bond these girls had was something I had never experienced firsthand, so I liked reading about it. It's almost as if I was experiencing it, vicariously, through them. I don't know if I'll ever experience a friendship like that in real life. But if I don't, I guess I can always enjoy reading about it! :-)

On a side note, I went on Netflix to see if they had the movie version of the book (it's in my DVD queue now). However, I can't believe they cast Alexis Bledel in the role of Lena. She is soooo not what I pictured Lena to be! I mean, she's pretty, but Lena is supposed to be breathtakingly gorgeous. Well, maybe her acting will make up for it. We'll see...