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...your husband tells you at 8pm that they're having a potluck at work tomorrow to welcome him to the new job. Yes, you could let him go the store for chips and guacamole as he insists is just fine. Instead you bake his favorite cookies, your least favorite cookies, all in time to watch your favorite tv show. Done without guilt, bickering or an ounce of annoyed sentiment. Yeah, I love the guy.
The other night I headed to the city for my branding theory class that inevitably was canceled because the instructor was stuck underground on the subway. Instead of an evening wasted in traffic I did a little window shopping at the posh downtown hipster mall, not really my scene but hey, who doesn’t love to indulge in a little guilty pleasure we call consumerism every once and a while. Shiny new stuff is so enticing isn’t it? There are purses, shoes and dresses calling, “you want me, don’t you… don't fool yourself, you can afford me” no matter how absurd they are for my lifestyle now. Wedge heals that I can’t chase a toddler in, the cute purse I can’t fit a laptop into and oh yeah and that dress that I could probably have fit into 6 years ago.
I’ve been much more aware of the fact that my tastes have been evolving since I became a mom. I’m a mom; do I look like a mom? It’s not a bad thing, just an age thing, an evolution thing, a progression kind of thing where practicality and simplicity are queen. So when I saw this little Vera Bradley clutch and I wanted it, it made me pause a bit. Grandma likes Vera Bradley? And if you’re familiar with this long established brand you’ll know what I mean. The prints are over the top and the styles are bordering on 80s vintage in my opinion. I’m not going to start collecting the stuff or anything, they already have their own cult following for that. But obviously they have wisely adjusted their color pallet and added some more contemporary designs to appeal to a broader more youthful market, but wait a minute - hold on a second, that includes me now! Dang, they got me.
So what’s in a brand and how do we become associated with a target audience? Well that I'm still learning but I can ask, how do we “re-brand” ourselves when we become parents and our identity shifts? I know I hold more value in what I do now as a mother than I ever did before I had a child. Can we re-brand motherhood to make it more appreciated? There are some people trying. Our culture feeds on the percieved value of carefully crafted brands and the qualities that they exude. For good or bad, that's the way we have been conditioned and it's not exclusive to any particular group or class of people. What are the qualities in the brand name that is you?
I don’t know if I’ll buy the silly bag or not, probably not. But I'm grateful for the reflection it provided free of charge. Some more food for thought below.
Brand New
No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs by Naomi Klein
Brand New by Jane Pavitt
What Page Are You On? by tollipop
Every visit to the children's section of the library leaves me a bit flustered. While it's exciting to leave with a new pile of books in our bag I have this disappointing and unsettling feeling in my stomach. Why is it so hard to find books about strong girls and capable women for my intelligent little Chickpea? I find that I really have to seek them out ahead of time to reserve instead of pulling them off the shelf, and you know that just doesn't sit well with me.
What really irks me is that there are plenty of books out there that could have easily been written using a female pronoun for a fluffy little bear but the author chooses to use the male. I find myself switching all the he's for she's when we cuddle up for our evening story time. In fact most children's books are written from the male perspective and as my mother-in-law pointed out (mind you she's a retired middle school librarian so she knows her children's literature) most authors write from a male perspective because it's assumed that most boys and girls will read stories about boys but boys will not read stories about girls. Thus from a marketing perspective you'd have a more salable book if you make the main character a male. I know it's a generalization but an interesting theory right? Could that be why, Lama Lama Mad at Mama is dedicated to the author's daughter yet the main character is a boy? If so, shame on you.
Perhaps I'm being too synical and a little bitter. I already know that regardless of what she reads, my little girl will grow up with an intelligent mind, self-sufficient attitude and determined spirit but I'd like to think that times have really changed. And of course they have but to what extent? My little girl likes worms, garbage trucks, dinosaurs, kicking stuff and getting dirty, not to mention dolls, fountains, tea parties, cooking stuff and giving hugs. She's already a multi-dimensional girl who rock, so write about it alright!
Here's a list of books that we have or I'm going to get and a few more to check out. Any other suggestions? Even ones that bend the gender rolls for boys?
I Want to be a Cowgirl by Jeanne Willis
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch
Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle
The Princess Knight by Cornelia Funke
The Seven Chinese Sisters by Kathy Tucker
Anna Banana and Me by Lenore Blegvad
Christina Katerina and the Box by Patricia Gauch
Update: Check out this post from Katherine at Rock-a-Dee-Da for a list of more books for with good messages for girls. Thanks Kath!
It’s always nice to have friends with fruit trees, especially those with an over abundant crop. So I invited myself over to pick a bag of lemons with loads of optimistic cooking plans.
First on the agenda was lemon marmalade with candied ginger. I’ve made this once before but I used a mixture of every kind of citrus fruit from my in-law's orchard, oranges, grapefruit, lemons, etc. And I think I liked how all the other fruit tamed it down a bit more. But needless to say this is pretty yummy stuff. A fresh loaf of bread, some Plugra butter and a slathering of this yellow goodness and you’re in a good place.
I think some people are mystified by making jams but it’s really so easy and a great way to use extra fruit. You can control the sugar and fine tune your flavoring all you want. It’s one of those things I pride myself on very rarely buying because we make our own. I think it makes the best gifts too. Heck, I even gave homemade jam away at my wedding, raspberry-peach. I gave some of these away for little Easter presents this year.
Next was lemon bread, an adaptation of my father-in-law’s recipe. It's dense but oh-so lemony and good. More lemon still left, what's next?
Mighty Lemon Bread
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
zest of 2 lemons, juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
Cream together butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest. In a separate bowl mix together flour, salt, and baking soda. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to egg mixture. Bake in a 5x9" loaf pan at 350 degrees for 1 hour. When bread comes out of the oven combine lemon juice and powdered sugar. Poke holes in the top of the bread and pour the juice mixture over it to soak. Let rest for 15-30 minutes before cutting.
I finished knitting this adorable top for the Chickpea. The good news is I’m happy with the way it turned out and so glad that I chose a good quality yarn (80% bamboo, 20% wool) to work with, it made all the difference. The bad news is that it’s so small she’ll grow out of it in a week. So perhaps it will be a gift for a future babe, and perhaps I need to make another one for my own babe but for now I can say it’s a job well done. I finished the other one I started too but it’s a bit too big for now. I get a little flustered when the finished product isn't exactly as I had imagined it would fit, oh well. I'll get better at judging fit I hope.
Essential Knits for Kids: 20 Fresh, New Looks for Children Two to Five
I picked up this book for some more projects. I’m trying not to be too daunted by all the intricacies. But if it wasn’t challenging it would be a little boring right.
Enough with the baking posts already but what can I say, I'm a baker at heart. These lovely deep brown muffins look more like chocolate than bran but the color is lovely and rich. My tendency to bake reminds me that I need to get out of my rut and find new recipes to cook. It's a New Years resolution I always make and this year I'm failing a bit. Granted there are worse things to fail at, I'm not going to hold it against myself that I love to bake. It's just finding the time to look for new recipes let alone finding a place to set a cookbook down is a tough job some days.
Here are a few recipes that I have on my list to try:
Just as a funny side note. I occasionally get messages for a certain celebrity chef on my cell phone. It has happened enough times, from enough reputable food organizations that I know we must share a very similar number and it's not just someone joking around. Maybe it's a sign? Can you guess which Iron Chef?
I have had this simple skirt pattern on my to-do list for quite a while now. This week I made 2 as Easter presents, one for my daughter and another for a friend's. I have so many small cuts of fabric in my stash (prints that I just couldn't leave the store without) that don't lend themselves well to big projects. This pattern is so simple that it's not even a pattern and it uses up a 1/3 yard so well, that I might just make a few more for gifts and summer play. I can't say enough about a project that is so basic you don't need to look at the instructions a second time, just my speed.
There are some great folks posting tutorials but I always loose track of them, sad to say. Here's one post that fortunately catalogs a bunch of them in one place.
I take public transportation to work 3 days a week. It's 30-40 minutes of me-time where I get to read, write, knit, or stare aimlessly out the window at the beautiful bay doing nothing if I please. I like my bus line. It's generally on time, I always get a roomy seat to myself and the drivers are courteous and we share general pleasantries like chatting about vacations, the weather and new hairstyles. It's a positive experience in my local community and good for the environment. Who wouldn't want a predictable, quite and civilized break twice a day like this?
So, all of you who are disrupting this busy Mommy's sacred time, you're here by on notice.
You know who you are... First, "Smelly-perfume-hair-product-primping-makeup-lady" take care of your grooming at home. I'm fine with a little dabbing of lip-gloss in public but the bus isn't your bathroom nor should it smell like a salon. I was taught that this behavior was "embarrassing your mother publicly", harsh I know. Second, "Loud-inappropriate-conversation-man" you need to think about what comes out of your mouth before you share it with a bus full of quiet strangers. I know you like to hear yourself talk and you think you know everything but please respect other passenger's mental space too. Some topics I don't want to hear you talk about ever again: how your food allergies affect your digestive system, why your friend is now a convicted sex offender and what you think of the Jews in Israel. Buddy, you make my skin crawl. Thirdly,"Stinky-ashtray-smokers" you of all people should know that you reek and you know that it's poison you reek of. I know your aching for one last breakfast smoke before you climb on that bus for 30 minutes of non-smoking hell but yuck, yuck and more yuck. Please, no one wants to be trapped next to you breathing that in.
Alright, ranting finished. I feel cleansed of the experiences for now... So glad to get that off my chest before the weekend. Above is one of my favorite children's books about riding the bus, Bus Stops by Taro Gomi.
