Things That Annoy Me Thursday: Bashing Lena Dunham

This is Lena Dunham.

She writes/produces/directs/stars in the HBO show Girls.

The picture is of her at the Golden Globes. I thought she looked awesome.

Cue the annoying fashion shows.

They did not.

They critized her dress.

They complained that she should have put on more makeup.

They laughed at how she walked in heels. (I sympathize. I also cannot walk in heels.)

Some made jabs about her weight.

This irked me.

I’m GLAD she’s not like other Hollywood starlets.

I’m GLAD she’s not stick thin.

I’m GLAD she didn’t choose whatever color dress seems to be the style at the time. (I guess red is in? But who gives a crap?)

I hate how Hollywood folks want everyone to be the same. Even Howard Stern poked fun saying something about how he wished she’d keep her clothes on. (In Girls, she’s naked a lot.) (Howard has since apologized.)

I’m proud of Lena for being who she is. I hope she always stays that way. I hope other actors will follow suit. It makes me cringe when I see stick thin actresses now. It’s distracting when I see someone who looks malnourished on the screen (unless they are playing a malnourished person.)

Lena is who I would want to play Jane if my book The Swimmer’s Assistant was ever made into a movie. (I would seriously be over the moon thrilled if that ever happened.)

So come on, Hollywood. Appreciate who Lena is.
(And another actress I admire? Rebel Wilson. She played Fat Amy in Pitch Perfect.)

Here’s to actresses who are not stick thin! May they always have meat on their bones and never turn down bread from the bread basket.

Hodge Podge for January 23rd

Welcome to the world of Wednesday Hodgepodge! Joyce is our hostess and she has been sick....no voice.  She has come up with some thought provoking questions and I would love for you to join in.  If you would like to participate...just click here, grab the questions, post, and link up.  It is eazy peazy.  Here are my answers to this week's questions...be sure to add your link on Joyce's blog before you hightail it out of here.

 

1. The popular saying, 'All is fair in love and war' is originally credited to English writer John Lyly. Is he right?   If everyone is actually fair....then yes.  Sad commentary is that everyone does not usually play fair....so that negates the statement.

2. Are you a cereal eater? What's your favorite kind? I love cereal and would eat it three times a day if I could stand the carbs.   Hot - Steel cut Irish oatmeal.  Cold I love anything wheat....Wheaties, Raisin Bran, Wheat Chex.  I do not like sugary cereals at all.
3. A five year old in Pennsylvania was recently given a ten day school suspension for talking with a friend about shooting one another with a Hello Kitty Bubble gun (the gun blows bubbles). She did not have the gun with her at school.

A psychological evaluation was also ordered and the incident was recorded on her permanent record. The suspension was later reduced to two days and her parents are suing to have the incident removed from her file. Your thoughts? (If you missed the story click here for details).   I am a school teacher.  I have to admit there are days I fear guns, knives, etc in the possession of my students.  This was a little much.  We have actually had elementary students bring REAL guns for show and tell....who did get suspended.  Come on....Hello Kitty Bubble Gun and not in her possession.  This had to have occured after the incident in New England....all schools went on alert and a bit crazy.
4. Whatever happened to__Saturday Morning REAL cartoons?   The cartoons kids watch today are terrible and most of them teach bad behavior.
5. January 23rd is National Handwriting Day, billed as a day to reacquaint yourself with a pen and pencil. Do you like your handwriting? Do you prefer to print or write in cursive? This date was chosen because its the birth date of John Hancock. What's the last thing you signed your name to?  I like my handwriting and have people compliment me on it many times.  I prefer to write in cursive and you can decipher my writing in either.  I signed my name on a check yesterday to pay a bill.

6. Speaking of John Hancock...ever been to Philadelphia? Do you have any desire to visit the city of Brotherly Love?   I have been to Philadelphia and loved it.  I would love to go back.  I ate my first ever  Philly Cheese Steak at Geno's and loved it. I had it "wit onions and whiz" as I was instructed to order it.  I got to hear James Earl Jones read the Magna Carta and it was amazing.  So much history there and I loved every minute of my time there.

7. Share something funny you've heard a child say. My last name was once Harrell.  My son's favorite Christmas song was, "Hark, the Harrell angels sing."  He would shout it out when the choirmaster asked for requests during Christmas....everyone would laugh, and I would be so embarrassed.  No matter how hard I tried I could not get him to understand that this song was not our family song!  He still says it....and he is 42. 

8. Insert your own random thought here. Did you know that today is National Pie Day.  I love pie....lemon, key lime, chocolate, peanut butter, apple, cherry....and my list goes on.  Do you like pie????  What is your favorite kind?

Is Someone Missing?

“What I want for my birthday is to be a big sister,” Natalie told me seriously the other day. “Mommy. When will your baby come back?”

My breath caught in my throat.

“Mommy,” Natalie prattled on, oblivious to the fact that I stood frozen beside her. “Will it be a boy baby or a girl baby?”

I couldn't speak. My mouth opened and closed like a goldfish but no words came out.

“Being a big sister would be fun. My friends Emma and Brianna are big sisters,” Natalie said, picking up one of her baby dolls and cradling it close.

“The baby isn’t coming back,” I managed to get out.

I had a miscarriage last summer. The pregnancy had been a total surprise. And then, just as I got used to the idea of having another one, I lost it.

Well. I’m told I had a blighted ovum, so it really wasn’t even an actual baby, but a bundle of cells. It never had a heartbeat. My son wasn’t upset that I lost the baby; on the contrary, he was happy. He has Autism and was not looking forward to a screaming infant.

My daughter was the one that was upset. She seemed to accept that there wouldn’t be a baby, but now and again she asks if I’m going to go back to the hospital to pick it up.

“It wasn’t right of them to take our baby,” Natalie once said. She didn’t seem to fully grasp everything.

And now she wants to be a big sister for her birthday.

Honestly, ever since I had the miscarriage, I can’t seem to get rid of the feeling that someone is missing. I had been stunned when I found out I was pregnant and was in a panicked state.

“I can’t do it all over again!” I had wailed to my husband Tom.

But.

Sometimes when we’re sitting around the table I think, “Someone is missing…”

The baby would have been due in December. As the kids opened their presents I couldn’t help but think, “If I hadn’t had a miscarriage, there would be an infant here with us..”

I go back and forth with the thought of another baby. I do worry that I would be overwhelmed with a newborn. Could I do diapers again? Losing sleep? I love my sleep. Would everyone fit in my hybrid? I don’t want a van. Would 3 kids be trouble? That’s an uneven number. How would we all go on rides?

On the other hand, what if I regret not having another one? Suppose I constantly feel like someone is missing. Will that feeling eventually go away?

I’m still not sure what will happen and if Natalie will ever get her wish of being a big sister.

Time will tell, I suppose.


I'm linking up with Shell over at Things I Can't Say with Pour Your Heart Out.

It's A Cah, It's A Cah!

Mrs Shirley sends me some riotous emails each day.  Some make me sad, some make me cry, some make me smile and some make me laugh out loud and embarrass myself with my guffaw.  This one was one of those and too good not to share it with you all.  I am an Ornithophobic.  I have a huge terror of multiple birds.  I don't know when it began....could have been walking through the throngs of pigeons at the Palm Beach County library when I was small and having them fly....or it could have been after seeing Alfred Hitchcocks movie, The Birds.  When ever it was.... birds in mass do not make me smile.  Trivia on the other hand rocks my world....which makes this email.....priceless....

Crow Mortality Rate Study, useful trivia for today.....

They just recently found over 200 dead crows near Halifax N.S. , and there was concern that they may have died from the Avian Flu virus.

A Bird Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and he confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu, . However, he was also able to determine, to everyone's relief, that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with large trucks, and only 2% were killed by car impact.

The Province of Nova Scotia hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine the disproportionate percentages for the large truck versus car kills. The Ornithological Behaviorist determined the cause in short order.

When crows eat road kill, they always set-up a look-out Crow in a nearbytree to warn of impending danger. His conclusion was that the lookout crow could say "Cah", but he could not say "Truck."

Now you know!

Thank you Mrs. Shirley for the smile on my face today!!!!!!

Hey, It's Okay Tuesday!

I got this idea from Glamour magazine. They have a section called Hey, It’s Okay and will list a bunch of things to be okay about. You're welcome to join in and do something like this on your blog. Doesn't have to be on a Tuesday either. Just make sure you link up and that the post you link up is a Hey, It's Okay Post.

---------------------

To have not watched the Lance Armstrong interview by Oprah. What he did was disgusting and I don’t feel the need to watch 2 hours of his excuses.


To not be surprised that Janelle from Teen Mom 2 is pregnant again. She’s not even taking care of his first child, but sure, get knocked up again. That makes complete sense.


To be 5 episodes in with the show Girls and really enjoy it. It’s a bit raunchy at times but I love how the main character isn’t stick thin with makeup caked on her face.


To wonder if there are any other parents out there who do NOT let their kids touch their iPhones? Or their Kindle Fires. I figure I deserve SOMETHING for myself.


To hate the phrase “shut the front door.” It’s used way too much. Instead I say, “Shut the fridge!” It causes people to go, “Uh? That’s not the phrase,” and I go, “It’s MY phrase.”


To be looking forward to our trip to Disney World in June. It’s going to be fun seeing Natalie meet all the princesses that she so loves.


To know that I am beyond a doubt NOT smarter than a fifth grader. Some of Tommy’s homework baffles the crap out of me. Thank goodness for Google.

He Had A Dream

Today is the day set aside to honor Rev Martin Luther King, Jr.  It is also the day our president is sworn in.  But did you know that on August 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C.Martin Luther King presented in his address at the March on Washington some words that would become famous....and become known as his "I Have A Dream Speech.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."  – Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream Quote

 

"The "I Have a Dream" speech was a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equalityand an end to discrimination. The speech, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. The speech was delivered to over 200,000 civil rights supporters and was ranked as the top American speech of the 20th century by a 1999 poll of scholars of public address. According to U.S. Representative John Lewis, who also spoke that day as the President of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, "Dr. King had the power, the ability, and the capacity to transform those steps on the Lincoln Memorial into a monumental area that will forever be recognized. By speaking the way he did, he educated, he inspired, he informed not just the people there, but people throughout America and unborn generations."  Did you know that the "I Have a Dream" speech was originally titled "Normalcy, Never Again." and the first drafts never included the phrase "I have a dream". He had first delivered a speech incorporating some of the same sections in Detroit in June 1963, when he marched on Woodward Avenue with Walter Reuther and the Reverend C. L. Franklin, and had rehearsed other parts.  The popular title "I have a dream," came from the speech's greatly improvised content and delivery. Near the end of the speech, famous African American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted to Dr. King from the crowd, "Tell them about the dream, Martin." Dr. King stopped delivering his prepared speech and started "preaching", punctuating his points with "I have a dream."   I grew up during this era of separation and remember all the turmoil that took place when desegregation began occurring.  I grew up in a house where we loved all of our neighbors....not just the ones who were just like us.  I grew up in a family that did not ever own slaves....and were in fact themselves indentured servants and share-croppers.    I ask you today....why must we look at another person and not see past the color of their skin?  Fifty years later....we still do not judge a man by the content of his character alone....maybe this year....it will be different.

The Broken Merida Crown

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

It was a bloodcurdling scream. One that made me jump and pause my television show at an awkward moment. (I was watching Girls. And one of the men in the show was, ahh, pleasuring himself in front of the girl he sleeps with…)

The noise was coming from Natalie’s room.

Crap.

The child is forever getting hurt.

“WHAT HAPPENED?” I shouted as I thundered up the stairs. Our home is not a quiet one. We shout. We yell. We fart. And, well, scream. All the “experts” would be appalled in our home.

“Look!” Natalie shrieked when I rushed to her room. I expected to find her bleeding or curled up on the ground, gripping a wounded part of her body. But no. Instead she shoved a broken crown at me.

“It’s BROKEN and I love it so much!” Natalie wailed. “MERIDA! MERIIDAAAA!”

I took a few calming breaths. I was relieved that she wasn’t hurt. No late night trip to the ER. Thank goodness. Our ER takes forever and always smells like old people mixed with vomit and antiseptic.

But. Wait a minute. It was a little after 11 at night. Why was she even awake?

Well, I’ll tell you. My daughter is a late owl like I am. I suppose I should force her into bed but if she’s anything like me, she’ll just lie there, tossing and turning and that’s no fun. So on non school nights, I’m lax about bedtime so long as she stays upstairs. I put the kids in their rooms by 8 and they play in their rooms until they get tired.

So long as they aren’t bothering me.

Which sometimes they still do.

Like when they break a toy and suddenly it’s MY problem.

“I accidentally stepped on it,” Natalie sniffled.

“Let me...try to glue it back together,” I said, taking the pieces. It’s times like these when I wished Tom were home. Natalie is never as dramatic or loud when he’s around. She hates to disappoint him. Me? She’ll disappoint me all day and be perfectly content with it.

“You hurt my feelings,” I’ll tell her.

She’ll pat my head in a patronizing way and go, “Maybe you need some chocolate.”

If DADDY says that she hurt his feelings she’ll fling herself into his arms and go, “I’m sorry, Daddy! I love you!” and then kiss him on the cheek.

That’s fine though. No biggie. I only gave her life.

I went downstairs with the crown and found the Super Glue. I opened it and squeezed and…nothing came out. There was some dried glue on the tip. So I kept squeezing—not the smartest choice, but it was late and I just wanted to get back to watching TV in peace--and then the glue burst like a zit. Glue sprayed down my hand, on the kitchen counter and floors…

“I’ve been glued!” I shouted. “I’ve been glued!” I felt like I was in an episode of an 80s sitcom.

The crown was stuck against two of my fingers. Still broken.

I ran my hand under steaming hot water and most of the glue came off. I still had some residue left behind though. And the crown was still broken.

“I’ll deal with this later,” I promised Natalie. “You need to get to bed.”

She didn’t put up a fight because she found her Rapunzel crown and placed it on her head demurely.

Is the crown fixed now?

Nope.

I’ve hidden the pieces in a drawer in hopes that Natalie forgets about it.

If she remembers, there’s always duct tape…