Birthday Week (?)

In the last year or two I've noticed a phenomenon on a few of the blogs I read: "the birthday week." I'm not talking about having dinner with one friend for your birthday on Monday, then another on Thursday and jokingly calling it a birthday week. I'm talking about actually designating the whole week as your week.

It seems this is mostly a phenomenon for young married women with no kids*. Their husbands (and extended family and friends - but especially husbands) have to follow certain rules for the week that all fall under the umbrella of treating the woman like a princess. The woman can basically just say, "But you have to be nice to me - it's my birthday week." She can watch whatever she wants on tv, lounge as much as she wants, and just generally get spoiled. In one of the blogs the woman even got her husband to paint her toenails, in the name of the birthday week. It's sort of like Hanukkah, but without any religious significance - only in the sense that a gift is given every day of the week leading up to the main event.

I've seen this on a few blogs and maybe it's just these specific women who do it, I don't know. Have you guys ever seen this? Do you do it?

My birthday is Friday and I've been debating about whether or not I want to designate this my birthday week and demand things from people. I'm not a young married woman (I'm only 1/3 of those things) but I wouldn't mind a little princess treatment. IF I were to name this my birthday week here are the things I would expect:

* one cupcake per day
* a text message every day telling me one (to ten) thing(s) that's (are) wonderful about me
* spa day
* dinners at my favorite restaurants
* basically get my way all day every day
* a puppy
* a phone call from either Prince Harry or Justin Bieber
* snuggle a baby every day (until its diaper needs to be changed)
* shopping spree(s)

Oh no. I was completely kidding when I started the list but the more I listed, the better it sounded. You have just witnessed my transition from normal person to princess. Oh, but if I'm a princess, Prince Harry would be more inclined to date me (that was an actual thought I had - not a joke).

This post is scaring me.

I think I've made a decision: no birthday week. It's turning me into a monster. But let's be honest - no one would have honored any of that list anyway. At least this way it looks like it was my decision.

*Obviously I don't think that all young married women with no children do this. In fact, as far as I know, I don't know any personally who do. I've only read about it on blogs.

The return of Downton Abbey!

Tonight is the long awaited return of Downton Abbey! I am sooo sooooo excited. NPR gave up all stories about world events this past week to cover all-Downton-Abbey-all-the-time. Did anything happen in the news this past week? I wouldn't know.

It's been a long gap since season two for us Americans so the refreshers were helpful. My family in England started watching the third season in October but they have been very good about not posting spoilers on Facebook, for which I am very grateful.

If you have never seen the show and want to know what it's all about, I made a little guide for you. There are some spoilers, but nothing major.

First, some important facts:

1. It is Downton, not Downtown Abbey. So just stop saying that now.

2. The show takes place early in the 20th century, back when meals were an elaborate production and you were either a noble or a servant. There was no in-between. None. This show has undone anything my history teachers taught me.

3. Lord Grantham (head of the household) takes great pride in his role as head of the house which he always refers to as simply "Downton." Where he (or any other nobles) got his money from, I have no idea. I've never understood this. There's no way of knowing. Investments? Inheritance?

Jimmy Fallon did a great job impersonating Lord Grantham in this sketch:



4. Lady Grantham is an American. She's a nice, understated woman who seems to have adapted to her fancy British lifestyle with great aplomb.

5. It's on PBS. You may need to give yourself time to find that channel since you probably never watch it for anything else. (Burn.)

6. The theme song is really good. It's dramatic, passionate, and oddly enough, sounds a lot like the X-Files theme song. I almost always play air piano to it when it's on because that's how I roll. In fact, I play air instruments whenever a song really speaks to me. My sister, Katherine, claims I have no idea how an actual guitar is played based on my air guitar. But when she tried to show me, I hated it. Way too restrictive. My air guitar goes all the way up and down the (air) strings. Way better that way. Anyway, here's the theme song if you want to listen to it while you read about some of the main characters.





Here's a short guide to some of the main characters. I know these pictures are small, but just click on them to enlarge.

Do you watch the show? Who are your favorite and least favorite characters?

Ye Olde Target Trading Post

Ask any woman what her favorite store is and odds are pretty good she'll say Target. Target just has everything us ladies need: adorable home decor, cute holiday decorations, accessories, tights, gifts, feminine products (just threw that in to scare the guys), etc.

But yesterday I went there and saw something new. It seems Target has a new designer - maybe they're trying to appeal to men. Or at the very least, rugged women? What I'm trying to say is Target seems to be deeply involved in the fur trade. 

This sign should have set me off. 

But I was still caught off guard when I saw these: 

Ok, Target. I love you so I'll let this one slide. But those... those are just weird. No wonder they're 70% off. 

Complexion Complex

Today I had lunch with one of my very best friends from high school. She is only in town for a few days and I rarely get to see her so it was a special treat! It was so good to see her - she is such a fun and genuine person and it's so easy to be around her, even after all these (five*) years apart since high school. The added bonus was that she brought her 17 month old baby with her and I got to meet him for the first time. He is such an adorable baby! He has those baby cheeks that you just can't stop touching! (I said the second half of that sentence in a baby voice in my head.)

In touching his cheeks repeatedly, I noticed something: babies are soft. Like, dang soft. I mentioned this to my friend and she said, "You should feel his butt!" We both agreed that might raise some eyes in the restaurant though, so I passed.

Anyway, I touched my own face after touching his - just to see the difference? It was like sand paper, people. Sand paper, I tell you. You know who I blame??

THE SUN

Yeah, that guy. I'm awful about wearing sun screen - I always forget. You would think that living in a state like Michigan, I would be spared the sun's abuse! But I guess it gets me in those short months it makes its face known.

I guess I can't blame it all on the sun. Part of it might be the fact that I'm aging. I mean, I have a birthday next week and, well, not to put too fine a point on it, but rest assured, I'm not 17 months old anymore.

I briefly thought about getting a chemical peel as I stroked the little guys face (I promise I didn't stroke it the whole meal - only like 75% of the time). A chemical peel is described this way by web md, by the way:

In this treatment, a chemical solution is applied to the skin, which makes it "blister" and eventually peel off. The new skin is usually smoother and less wrinkled than the old skin.

When you read that bit about the blistering and peeling off, did you make disgusted face? Cause I did. Also, when I read about the benefits on the website, they were mostly aesthetic (acne removal, scar removal, age spots, etc). I mean, smoothness is good. And less wrinkles? Sure. But blistering and peeling? Um, no. And plus, what's up with "usually smoother"!? Not good enough.

Oh well. If you need anything sanded, let me know.

*a little more than that.

An honest post

I want to continue blogging nearly every day, but the thing that's hard about that is that not every day is good. Not every day is interesting or funny. Today, for example. I'm just going to be real with you: today was poo.

I couldn't sleep last night, so I was exhausted all day today. And because I was exhausted, everything seemed a bit harder and a bit worse. Instead of being single, I was going to die alone. I ate healthy all day yesterday but didn't lose weight? End of the world. And so on and so forth. Many examples of exaggerated reactions are coming to mind but to be honest, I don't feel like getting into it.

I didn't want to blog about it because I felt vulnerable. You know, when you put things out there, people often feel inclined to give advice, and sometimes the advice is the opposite of what you want to hear. I'm talking about the condescending advice - the advice that is really meant to chastise more than comfort or guide. Not that you guys would ever do that, don't get me wrong.

Have you guys seen Bob's Burgers? If not, you should. It's one of the funniest tv shows on right now. There was an episode recently where the teenage boy, Gene, somehow got stuck in a relationship with a girl he did not want to date, but he didn't want to hurt her by breaking up. The stress was really getting to him, and while talking about it with his sisters, he said, "My life is more difficult than anyone elses AND YES I'M INCLUDING STARVING CHILDREN SO DON'T ASK!"

That line stuck with me because on days like today I can relate. Luckily, the feeling rarely lasts long. Not for us certifiably sane people anyway (seriously, I have a certificate - don't you? Hm. I wonder about you sometimes.).

Little things bothered me a bit more than usual today. Like my fan for example. I keep a stand-up fan in my bedroom for both white noise and the cooling factor. Well, my bedroom was really hot (hence why I couldn't sleep last night), so I turned the fan up to "2" instead of the usual "1." Turns out 2 bugs the crap out of me. The fan is so much louder on 2. Louder and more aggressive. Like it's trying to prove something. I just want to yell at it, "Would you just calm down!?!" 

Lack of sleep, ya'll.

But I took a nap after a light dinner and felt more human again afterward. Some days the universe is just not working in your favor.

But there's always tomorrow, right?

Wednesday Thoughts

Sigh. The first day back to work after vacation. Am I right?

I started out the day strong. Happy to be back in routine. Satisfied at having gotten up at a reasonable hour. Having braced the cold, scraped my car windows, packed my lunch, and rejoined the rat race. I was once again a productive member of society.

But a couple hours after arriving at work, my enthusiasm faded a bit.

Me, at 8:30 (apparently I work on water):

Me, at 10:30 (yeah, that's 10:30. I'm not good at drawing clocks, okay?):

Working hard
But the good news is, it's only a three day work week. AND I started in on those goals today (sugar detox) which felt good. I guess I'm glad vacations don't last forever. If they did, I wouldn't have nearly as much to complain about. And where's the fun in that!?

Happy Wednesday.

A New Year's Resolution

A friend of mine wrote on her blog at the beginning of 2012 that rather than make a New Year's Resolution, she likes to come up with a theme for the year. Like "make" or "move." I really liked this idea and thought about applying it to 2013. However, I couldn't decide on one word only, so I decided a phrase would be better for me. After thinking long and hard about it (by which I mean, occasionally thinking about it whenever it came to mind), I decided that my phrase would be "Try new things."

I have some specific new things in mind, some of which I'll share now, some I will keep to myself for now. Some ideas: try rock climbing, figure out ways to make money from blogging, maybe do a mini-triathlon (gulp), read some classics I haven't read yet, travel to knew places, and maybe even watch the Goonies for the first time.

For 2012, my New's Resolution was to learn how to French braid. I made a feeble attempt once, but it turns out I have zero interest in French braiding. It just doesn't appeal to me. I have no need for it in my life at this point.

I did do some new things though, and they really enriched and entertained me. Things like: Going to the Grand Canyon, making and selling almost 100 hula hoops, running my first 5K (and doing 3 more races after that), bicycling in the Tour de Troit, holding (but not shooting) a gun for the first time, going to the Oswald bear ranch in the U.P., camping in the U.P., and doing lots of new crafts. It was a fun year.

I am excited for 2013. I have a good feeling about it. What approach do you make to New Year's Resolutions? Do you do them? Do you keep them? Do they work for you?