Archive for April, 2008
Apr
30
Posted by Arianne
I got a hair cut. Finally a style that suits me. Some new color, too. Check it:
Apparently I’m the worst self-portrait taker in the world. This was the best one. It looks like I’m cutting off something, but the length of the hair stops there (the rest of the photo was up above my head, so I thought I’d spare you a view of the ceiling) at the bottom.
Funky funk in the back, tiny little bangs peeking out. Went dark brown this time, but there is some bright red on both sides somewhat hidden. Love. It. Feeling very me now…funny how a bad hair day can wreck you and a good hair day turns you into a superhero. Currently I am feeling divine powers of organization filling my veins.
Evil email inbox? I. Will. Cut. You.
Apr
30
Posted by Arianne
As I type, my parents are on the last leg of their exodus out of the Los Angeles. A journey that includes all their belongings, a big truck they’re driving themselves, gas mileage that has at times been less than FOUR, and a journey along the historic Route 66. When I read the daily updates of their progress, I can’t help but remember the song from the movie Cars by John Mayer “Get Your Kicks” (for any music buffs, yes I know the song was not originated by Mr Mayer) (Listen here). As the lyrics list each city along the route, I quickly notice the fun and exciting journey the song is describing is if you took the trip from Chicago to L.A…not the other way around. Because, WHO in their right mind would make the drive the opposite way–L.A. to freezing Chicago? It doesn’t seem logical, does it?
But this same journey is the one we as a family made 18 months ago, and even though we didn’t drive Route 66 (what are we, nuts?) and decided to fly, the trip our souls made is similar in every way. We left everything and most everyone we knew, and jumped forward into the unknown. Not having a clue if we’d really love our new adventure, we had faith that the change was important and necessary. We had come to a place in our lives where something unexpected was frightening, but we also figured that we could always go back if things didn’t work out. Not giving into that fear was the best decision ever.
Had we let fear stop us, where would be, or rather what would we have missed? We have an amazing tribe of friends here in our new homeland that have impacted and changed our lives profoundly. We’ve seen our oldest son’s progression from autism take leaps and bounds, and we were able to afford to buy our first home. We’ve discovered that people really are nice and human and have immersed ourselves in the peaceful slower living of the Midwest. We had worried we’d be bored, yet we are so joyfully busy that we wonder what we used to do with all that “free” time.
My parents are excited to arrive in their new hometown, to live near all their grandkids, and start a fresh new beginning as empty nest-ers. As we welcome them in and enjoy introducing them to all our new loves, we can’t wait to see where this adventure takes us next.
Apr
25
Posted by Arianne
In my Mean Girls post I promised I’d follow that rant with some inspiration, hilarity and baby pictures. So, as promised:
Inspiration–
Everything I write about is inspired (or instigated) by something, and most of the time my inspiration is my kids. Come read my other blog where I wrote this week about Mr Fussy (see below).
Hilarity–
The other day my 3yo was out for a walk and suddenly said, “I think I need to get back home. I’m getting fussy.“ I really wish that I had the wherewithall to warn people PRIOR to getting fussy, instead of them just figuring it out after I glare at them and chuck something at their head.
Last but not least, baby pictures (my niece Capri)–
Go ahead and say it. Nom nom nom…
Apr
25
Posted by Arianne
We have a winner! After a record breaking (well, for my humble blog…) 537 comments, we have our two winners.
The winner of the set of 5 Envirosax bags was picked by random.org to be #49, QueenB who said “These are great! We have a car wash business and are in the process of putting in a water reclamation system to cut down our water consumption by 80%. And at home we recycle everything possible!”
Congrats!
The winner of the single Envirosax bag was picked by me for having the most witty, funny or otherwise impressive comment, and that person is Lace, because I’m a sucker for mnemonic devices. She said:
We have the ugly 99c. store brand bags and they are not cute in any way and they are huge even when folded. I would love some cute bags that fold up small.
G ave up plastic water bottles
R ide my bike
E at organic when I can
E liminated paper plates
N o toxic cleaners
That’s impressive, no?
Congrats to both winners!
Apr
23
Posted by Arianne
**A little disclaimer…this is just me getting my vent on…I don’t normally “go there”, but I just really feel like I need to get this out. We will return to our regularly scheduled programming of inspiration, hilarity and baby pictures in the next post!
I used to have a circle of friends that consisted of mostly geeky, charming guys. There were only a couple other girls besides myself, and that’s the way we liked it. Why would we want girls around when guys were so uncomplicated? Girls have the ability to engage in a serious slap fight without having to ever actually touch their opponent. It’s the type of smack-down that is done with words, and these girls are fantastically skilled at tearing each other apart. And of course by “these” I mean “most”.
The sad part is that these Mean Girls are supposedly friends. These types of friends like to feign sweetness and concern for their “friend”, however get them into the nearest secret meeting or private email and they are anything but. Needless to say, I didn’t want any part of the Mean Girls world.
Once I got married, my young marriage needed my attention as young marriages are wont to do, and it pretty much put the kabosh on the “guyfriend” part of my life. “My” friends evolved into “our” friends while I watched the Mean Girls evolve into Mean Wives. No different than their high school alter-egos (except for the addition of wedding china), the meanness soldiered on. They’re nothing if not two-faced, because one minute you think you have a friend for life, the next you find out that same friend is making fun of you to her other Mean-ettes and doesn’t really care about you all that much after all. Without some kind of traumatizing event, most Mean Girls stay that way. Mean.
The journey of moving into motherhood didn’t change these mean stripes, and OH! now they have parenting skills to judge and analyze as well. If you’re lucky, you don’t ever hear their opinions on your disciplining strategies, how you feed your child or what clothes you put them in. If you’re unlucky, you find out the nitty gritty through the grapevine (or an unfortunate forward), and the truth is laid bare. Bottom line…it’s a lot easier to find frenemies than friends these days.
Jumping into blog-land I knew I’d have to have a thick skin. I even avoided the “community” and left comments off when I first started my blog 4 years ago. Because you know what? The Mean Girls have now evolved into “writers” with an audience. Even if they don’t publicly write about you or your shlumpadinka self, they’re now emailing back and forth with at least 10 other Meanies they met through their blog.
And guess what? The nice people are the first to get thrown under the bus. Every word we as bloggers put out there, that springs forth from our hearts for a variety of reasons (creative expression, journal, portfolio, business) is now somehow the topic of snarky discussions and “can you believe what she WROTE today???” type discussions. It’s all just SO uplifting.
To be clear, I’m not talking about non-friends or trolls–those people almost have a right to be less than nice. They’re just having fun or have found themselves completely bored and want to go make fun of some people. They won’t remember the snark recipients, and they really don’t care about what they’re saying. For them, it’s sport. And besides, who cares what they think anyway?
What I’m talking about are FRIENDS who engage this behavior. Women who you’ve told your secrets to, who you’ve given your heart to, who you’ve let your guard down with and allowed them to see your freak flag. They will act completely simpatico one second, loving you to pieces, thinking you are hilariously witty–and the next second they’ll shoot off an email telling a fellow Mean Girl how incredibly selfish/annoying/shallow you are. Or maybe they’ll talk about how THEY would never do what YOU are doing. How precious of them! Comparing their life to your life and presuming they know what your shoes feel like to walk in. OH TO HAVE THAT MUCH FREE TIME.
The problem is, one little comment about how “so and so is soooo annoying, don’t you think??” might not seem like a big deal. However, these kinds of conversations, added up over time, chip away at reputations, opinions, and impressions of people. Pretty soon there is a bad impression formed and no one really knows how it happened or where it came from. It seemed to come out of nowhere. This stuff is DIVISIVE and I’m just really freaking tired of it.
I suppose I’m still working on that thick skin, because even witnessing a “virtual” cat fight depresses me, never mind being a part of one. I’m sure one day I’ll find myself in the cross-hairs of the Mean Girls, because who hasn’t? I try to remember that the source of their meanness is likely some profoundly low self esteem, combined with some serious parental baggage, but that doesn’t seem to protect my heart from feeling the nasty vibes.
I hope that we can pause, if even for a moment, and evaluate if what we’re talking about among friends is helping someone or working out a problem, or if it’s just plain gossip for miserable’s sake. Maybe then we can turn the frenemy trend back into a sisterhood trend, and be proud of what we are teaching our daughters and nieces.
Apr
23
Posted by Arianne
Apr
21
Posted by Arianne
**Contest is Now Closed–Thanks To All Who Participated!**
Yes friends, there is another bloggy giveaway carni(val) going on, and I love to give things away so I can’t help but throw my hat into the ring!
In honor of Earth Day tomorrow, I’m giving away a set of 5 Retro Envirosax reusable bags! These sturdy, waterproof and bigger-than-they-look bags are the perfect way to jump start your reusable habits.
To enter, leave a comment here with one green change you have made or are making in your homes, in your office, for your body, anything. I will choose a winner randomly at 11:59pm on Thursday April 24th, and post the winner here and at Prizey.
BONUS! If you are not the random winner, I will select one additional winner with the most witty, funny or otherwise impressive comment to receive a single Envirosax reusable bag.
Apr
21
Posted by Arianne
A pic of my baby sis, all grown up. Tired, blurry and counting the minutes until sleep can overtake.
Go here for more of the Best.
Apr
18
Posted by Arianne
I’m writing about the bruthas over at Stop Looking At Me today. Come visit and share your stories!
Apr
18
Posted by Arianne
This post is for anyone in the Silicon Valley area, or anyone who wants to be (road trip, anyone?). There is a very important event being held TOMORROW, and I would be there in a heartbeat if I could (Chicago is a little too far of a drive).
Jill, co-creator of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog Group (including Chicago Moms Blog, where I am a contributor) has helped organize a bone marrow drive in honor of her mother for the National Marrow Donor Program. You can show up, get your cheek swabbed, and make a difference. Thousands of cancer patients are waiting and hoping for a donor match–and it could be you. Won’t you find out?
Go here to read all about Jill’s passion, and spread the word. You can save a life.
