Mrs. Chicken's Party

Mrs. Chicken's got a new roost, and she's throwing a housewarming party. Stop by and have a look around.

Wacky Wednesday: Avast Mateys! It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

September 19, 2007 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day

From "Tomorrow you'll pay a buccaneer for corn?" by By Paul Majendie on Reuters.com Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:54pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Put a parrot on your shoulder, strap on a peg leg, hit the rum and start bellowing "Shiver me Timbers" -- Wednesday is International Talk Like A Pirate Day.
. . .
Pirate fans around the world have rallied round, showing that surreal silliness is alive and well.
. . .
A bar in Venice, Italy is holding an olive stone-spitting contest for would-be buccaneers.
. . .
A Brazilian fan even sent a letter of support in a bottle while one overjoyed Argentinian whose birthday falls on the same day said "It will be difficult to talk in Spanish like pirates but we will try."

Sign me up for the olive-stone spitting contest in Venice. I would like to request Orlando Bloom as my partner. What do you mean he's not a real pirate?

Find yer How to Talk Like a Pirate guide here. Audio clips available in German, Swedish and Mandarin Chinese.

Luxury Looks for Less

I like a little luxury. Who doesn't? But let's not get crazy. I don't need $9 scented dish soap or $16 dryer sheets infused with essential oils. But jewelry from Tiffany's, perfume from Saks, and luxury bed linens? Yes, yes and yes!

A little luxury in the right places goes a long way. Lovely jewelry can dress up a mundane mommy outfit, intoxicating perfume plays out its own scenario in your mind, and striking bed linens set the mood when you enter a room.

The price of luxury can be steep, so when something luxurious tickles my fancy, but seems just a bit too much at the time, I keep my eyes open for less expensive alternatives. The October issue of Family Circle brought me a welcome surprise. I was thrilled to find this line of linens from Martha Stewart Everyday.

Because I love the crisp tailored look and high-thread-count feel of fine hotel bed linens, I have been mulling over these similar collections from Restoration Hardware and like styles from Pottery Barn for some time. While I am not a regular Kmart shopper, these linens from Martha Stewart Everyday are just the sort of item that might make me walk through their doors.

Weekend Political Feature: In Their Words, Iraq War Blogs

A roundup of commentary from soldiers and their spouses and Iraqi citizens:


Dragonfly, the blog of a personal friend whose husband is currently serving in Iraq. This post is particularly insightful. I admire the grace and strength with which she approaches life while her husband is at war.

She Who Waits from the loving wife of a marine serving another tour of duty in Iraq.

Intel Dump from Phillip Carter who served in the Army's 101st Airborne Division as an adviser to the Iraqi police in 2005 and 2006.

Great Baghdad, the blog of Al-Rasheed, a 33-year-old man living and working in Baghdad. In "The Federal State of Iraq" he supplies an analysis of what some politicians and pundits positively spin as federalism in Iraq.

My War
"Endlessly surprising…delightfully profane… an unfiltered, often ferocious expression of his boots-on-the-ground point-of-view of the Iraq war."
- Arianna Huffington

An American Soldier, in Still Alive, January 15, 2007, Rob offers a first-hand account of Al Qaeda's strong presence in Iraq.

Baghdad Burning a young Iraqi woman tells of her plight and that of her country.

365 and a Wakeup from soldier who returned home in 2006. Excellent photos from a soldier's viewpoint. Albums accessible from the right column. Links to United States Central Command and Military.com sites.


(Blogs of current soldiers and military spouses are subject to regulation under military code and therefore may be subjected to heightened scrutiny.)

Wacky Wednesday: Just When You Think No One Appreciates A Good Tantrum

I found this article in SeaCoastOnline praising an anonymous mom a refreshing read. It was a nice insight into what people might be thinking while observing those "category 4" toddler meltdowns.

When Our House Is Run by Toddlers, Coming Soon

We shall dine upon cake and juice for breakfast. The juice shall be served over crushed ice, full strength, much to pediatricians' dismay. In the event cake is not available, pancakes may be substituted provided they are of the "silver dollar" variety and are officially referred to as "hotcakeys."

For lunch, we shall feast upon corn dogs, cookies, and soda pop, fully caffeinated and fully sugared. In the event corndogs are not available, pancakes may be substituted provided they are of the "silver dollar" variety and are officially referred to as "hotcakeys."

At nap time, well, there will be no nap time, but during the time that used to be nap time, we will braid the dog's fur and color the insides of his ears with washable marker, while watching "The Wiggles Magical Adventure."

At snack time, we will have hotcakeys. No substitutions please.

For dinner, we will eat cheese and ice cream, with our hands. Participants are encouraged to style their hair using an ice cream pomade.

Following dinner and before bath, we will see who can make the best sticky hand prints on the television while watching our bedtime relaxation video, "The Wiggles Magical Adventure."

Baths will last one hour, accompanied by no fewer than fifteen bathtub toys. We will exit the bath and dry ourselves only after all bath water has drained and we have lain with our faces on the tub floor and flopped like fish for at least one minute. We shall dry ourselves exclusively with bright yellow towels adorned with duck feet on the corners and hoods with bills on top. While drying we shall quack like ducks and waddle around the bathroom wearing only a diaper.

We shall never ever, ever, ever put on pajamas without first making an obligatory three laps around the bathroom while dancing and singing, "Nakey! Nakey! Nakey! Nakey! Nakey!" Rump shaking and hand jiving are mandatory.

The official bedtime ritual shall consist of no fewer than three story readings, eight hugs, ten kisses, and five tuckings in. Then we shall sleep like babies.

Abercrombie's Analysis of Petraeus' Testimony And The Hunt Oil Deal In Iraq

Click here for Rep. Abercrombie's analysis of Petraeus' testimony and the Hunt oil deal in Iraq. (Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii)) A Hilltube Video.

Does the Move On Ad Nicknaming General Petraeus "General Betray Us" Go Too Far?

I think so. Do you?

View the ad here.

I may disagree with Petraeus' opinion or the manner in which he presents it, but I do not believe he intends to betray the American people or his troops. While the ad may have valid points to make, using such a harsh and obviously inaccurate moniker turns off viewers at the start making them unreceptive to the ad's main message.

I think it is an unfortunate misstep by MoveOn.

Easier Than Apple Pie: Easy Apple Cinnamon Bake Recipe

The beginning of school and football always put me in an autumn frame of mind, ready for fall foliage and apple pie, regardless of the temperature outside. If it is still too hot where you live to get excited about firing up the oven, this Easy Apple Cinnamon Bake recipe offers a simple solution. It takes less than ten minutes start to finish and fills the house with a wonderful aroma.

Ingredients:

1 large apple (Red Delicious or Fuji are ideal)
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar
1 dash nutmeg (Remember nutmeg comes from the same plant as mace. It can be overpowering, so proceed with caution. Omit if serving to small children.)

Directions:

Slice apple into quarters, peel, and slice again into 1/4 inch or smaller slices. Place in microwaveable soup or cereal bowl. Mix in 1 Tablespoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon sugar, and dash of nutmeg until apple slices are evenly coated. Cook in microwave on high for approximately 3 minutes.

Hints:

A little apple juice may be added prior to cooking, if you prefer softer, sweeter baked apples. For a more rustic result, and quicker prep, bake with apple peel on.

Oprah and Obama: What Will Be the Impact?

Late yesterday, Oprah Winfrey hosted a political fundraiser at her home in Santa Barbara home, raising some three million dollars for Barack Obama. Obama is the first political candidate to receive such public support from Ms. Winfrey despite her long history in the public eye.

Could Oprah's support of Obama significantly impact the Democratic Presidential Primary? It could, but the degree to which it will depends upon the degree to which Oprah is willing to tie her image to Obama's politics and the Democratic party.

Undoubtedly, Oprah has demonstrated the ability to influence American pop culture and buying patterns. With her book club and "Oprah's Favorite Things", she has demonstrated influence arguably unrivaled by any single television personality. For all the influence she wields though, she has to an obvious extent avoided publicly endorsing any political candidate, until Obama.

People are taking notice of her interest in Obama and that will serve him well. While hosting a three million dollar fundraiser at her Santa Barbara home brings big money and an intimate personal touch, both trademarks of Ms. Winfrey's business sense, it is likely not enough to sway a major voting block.

Could Oprah have the sort of impact required to change the outcome of a presidential primary? Yes, but it would come from involvement more akin to the type we saw with Michael J. Fox's very public endorsement of candidates supporting stem cell research in 2006. Oprah certainly has the skill, the funds, and the wherewithal to be significant influence in the Democratic Presidential Primary and the 2008 Presidential Election, but whether she will remains to be seen.

* A cross-post from Political Popsicle/Political Pollyanna.

The Disney Princess Machine, Has It Gone Haywire?

Princesses are in. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel. Odds are if you have daughters, you see plenty of ads for these princesses and others. The list goes on: Pocahontas, Mulan, Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, and debuting soon, Disney's first black princess, Maddy. Old movies are new again, and new movies are being made featuring old movie princesses -- Cinderella III; Disney Princess Enchanted Tales; The Little Mermaid Platinum Edition; Princess Party Volume Two: The Ultimate Pajama Jam!; Disney Princess Stories Volume Two: Tales of Friendship; and more.

It is troubling to see this amount of marketing effort applied to animated characters directed toward youngsters, but it doesn't end there. When attention is turned to real life Disney teen stars, we see a Disney pop princess machine that seems to have gone awry. From Hillary Duff, to the Cheetah Girls, to Hanah Montana, to Ashley Tisdale, to Vanessa Hudgens. It is not enough to have these teenage girls to be TV stars or movie stars, they are promoted as pop stars too. Their television shows and ads for their movies are followed by videos featuring their next hit single. It is nonstop marketing.

Too often, the image of the girl seems to take a back seat to the desire to create a saleable pop sensation. One of the Vanessa Hudgens videos, in particular, seems so inappropriate that I change the channel or turn off the television if it comes on. Of course Disney should back Ms. Hudgens following her recent error in judgment.

The bigger question is: Is Disney pushing girls too far too fast, or growing their careers to quickly, to turn them into the next pop princess sensation? Of course parents and child performers make their own decisions, but as an expert in the industry and key decision maker, what role does Disney play?

Think Pink

Okay, so I don't drink coffee from a pink cup. yet. Only because I don't have one. But I would so very gladly vacuum my house with a pink vacuum. And if I could help beat breast cancer by doing so? Well, that would just rock. Check out the new PINK Dyson debuting at Target and the giveaway going on at ModMom.

Wacky Wednesday -- A Rough Sketch

I have started creating some of my own clip art (See "Happy Labor Day" and "Calling for a Cease Fire".) An artist I am not, but imagine my husband's surprise when I showed him the initial rough sketch below. Finally, it dawned on me that I should explain I drew her arms and extra shoes separately because these are not my forte and if drawn separately I can edit and attach them later in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Before the explanation I can only imagine what he must have thought.

Calling for a Cease Fire

My grandmother used to tell me, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." While I do think a certain amount of critical discourse is necessary to sort out life, love and politics, I think the rule my grandmother taught me is just perfect when it comes to judging other mothers' decisions about raising their children.

Others though, many others, seem to feel an incessant need to dole out unsolicited constructive criticism to mothers. (See "Mommy Wars Suck" at Pundit Mom.) Maybe they feel they have all the answers for raising perfect children, or at least know more than the moms they criticize. Maybe they think their advice is the only thing that provides a glimmer of hope for all of us against the otherwise certain destiny of being doomed to live in a world full of degenerate, tantrum-throwing, blankie-clutching, un-potty-trained adults still sucking their binkies. I don't know.

Frankly, I've got my hands full just trying to make decisions about how to raise my own children. I don't have time to make decisions about how to raise someone else's. So, while I won't venture to offer parenting advice, I would like to call for a cease fire. Let's put an end to the Mommy Wars.

Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day to hardworking moms everywhere. After all, who works harder?

The Senator Larry Craig Bathroom Sex Scandal: A Rush to Judgment or No?

I rarely have trouble making decisions. Ask anyone who knows me well, I usually have an opinion -- an opinion that I am happy to share. But when it comes to the Larry Craig bathroom sex scandal, I still have questions, on a couple of levels.

First, I'm not convinced that people would care as much if the scandal didn't revolve around accusations of homosexuality. At this point, it's significant that news conversations revolve as much, if not more, around Craig's sexual orientation as around sex of any kind in a public place, or even the fact that Craig is married, which is often mentioned only as an afterthought. Really, shouldn't the point be that the man was accused of soliciting sex in a public restroom?

Second, I find Craig's guilty plea perhaps persuasive, but not determinative of his guilt for anything other than legal purposes. As any lawyer, I am fully aware that it is sometimes in individuals' best interest to plead guilty to crimes which they did not commit. Sad, but true. Unfortunately, in this case, it was clearly not in Craig's best interest to plead guilty, but he did, and that cannot be undone.

Third, "You have to be guilty in order to plead guilty" which has become the mantra of CNN Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin, usually a quite well-reasoned commentator, is misleading at best. While, yes, that exact language may be printed on the plea form that Craig signed, it is basically meaningless. It is a standard convenience clause included in an attempt to preempt later challenges to guilty pleas. This is something I expect Toobin knows full-well, which leads me to my next and final point.

It is the reaction of Washington insiders coupled with Craig's willingness to plead guilty which I find most persuasive of his guilt, far more so in fact than his actual guilty plea. No one in Washington came to Craig's defense. When the story broke, it was immediately reported that Craig's sexuality had been a point of ongoing discussion for many years. While Craig and fellow "Family Values" Republicans argue against extending equal rights in many arenas to homosexual individuals and couples, they seem fully aware of closeted individuals who serve the party well and at the highest levels. This is something they seem to have little problem with until there is a scandal. The fact that no one came to Craig's defense, not even the staunchest Republicans, makes me believe the accusations against Craig and his guilty plea were something they found not only believable, but almost expected. If he did not actually commit the crime to which he pleaded guilty, it would require more cynicism than I can muster even for the Republican party.

More troubling than the scandal or its impact on politics, I find it deeply disturbing that we live in a society where many men find it more amenable to seek out anonymous sex in public restrooms than acknowledge an identity they are told is sinful and morally reprehensible. This only furthers deep and shameful secrecy that destroys the lives of these men and others.

Mortgage Market Woes Explained -- A Brief Explanation of the "Loan to Own" Approach of Lenders

If you have any financial decisions to make, other than just how to spend the interest income from your inexhaustible trust fund, it's important to understand the cause and impact of the current mortgage crisis. In this video, John Vogel, from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, gives a brief, easy to understand explanation of the "Loan to Own" theory that furthered the competitive mortgage lending frenzy.

I found it interesting and think you might too.

Video from Beet.TV

I May Not Be Too Cool For A Minivan After All

Upon taking a life inventory, I realize perhaps I am not too cool for a minivan after all.

Exhibit A

I badly, badly want a nifty apron just like this one, so much in fact that I bought this pattern to sew it myself. Total square.




Exhibit B

Given the opportunity, I would dress my dogs in equally appealing apparel. Square, square, square.




Exhibit C

All three of these items reside in my jewelry box. Hopelessly square.




Exhibit D

This book is my idea of a good Valentine's Day present. Totally square.




Exhibit E

Square from an early age type square.







Minivan, I think, might actually enhance my coolness factor.


*Note - This is not intended to insinuate that people who drive minivans are not cool, only that my level of coolness is, eh-ehm, not a consideration.

Minivan Envy

I've been eyeing minivans lately, lusting over all that roominess, the huge cargo space, the sliding doors. I bet they have nice cup holders too. Front seats handsome and well-equipped, interior space large enough to change a diaper in, what's not to want? I hear some can do four-wheel drive.

I proclaimed in high school that I would never, never, never drive a minivan. Is my resolve to my pledge beginning to crumble? Am I slowly succumbing to the temptation of its incredible vanness?

May-be. Slowly. SUV's have that big gap between the floor and ground that can be difficult for kids to navigate. Even a stately luxury sedan doesn't seem equipped to handle my needs, with double-stroller, diaper bag, groceries, and two babies in tow.

Still, there is something in me that just won't let go of the hope of a sporty ride in my life. You know, because Corvettes are so practical with toddlers.

But then again, could a minivan be sporty? Could it be like the steamy guy with glasses and a big brain who is totally hot but just doesn't flaunt it?

Maybe. Just maybe.

Two, The Age of Reason

"Are you putting pizza in your pants for later?"

"Yep."