What's with the toothpaste

After my last post, I decided it was best I keep my whining about the holidays to myself.  Now that Christmas is all unwrapped and there is very little on tap for New Year's, I can move on to other kinds of whining.

I've compiled a list of complaints/questions regarding toothpaste.  It may seem silly, but I encounter the tube at least 2 times per day and what I see drives me crazy.

• What is with the toothpaste and why are women the only people capable of using a tube of toothpaste without turning it into a disgusting mess in some way?  (Grown women only because Zoe is as much of a culprit here as Rob.)  
• Seriously, how very hard it is to squeeze the tube from the bottom?  
• And can you not yet judge the force of squeeze you'll need to get the toothpaste out without also getting it all over the top of the tube?  
• And one more question, is it really so hard to rinse the toothpaste residue from the sink when you're done brushing your teeth?

Any insight here would extremely helpful.  And please don't tell me I am OCD.  I have lived with other women and I know they do not behave like this with toothpaste.  

Maybe I need some more post-holiday rest?

Cleaning your house is not enough

I haven't gotten out my soap box in awhile so I thought it was time I dusted it off.

Last Saturday morning at the gym I happened to see a piece on the CBS Early Show about working out while you clean. I was listening to my iPod and not the TV audio, but it wasn't necessary to get the gist of this piece. It had two extremely thin women in work out gear doing lunges while mopping, using a full laundry basket to do chest presses, carrying grocery bags like dumb bells, etc. The women were very serious in their cleaning and exercising. Towards the end of the segment a laughing male anchor joined when they were lifting bottles of laundry detergent. He was laughing with an "aren't you girls cute" expression on his face. Very smug.

I wanted to hurl my water bottle at the television. I restrained myself (lucky for the people working in the area below the ceiling-suspended televisions) and the piece disappeared, but was almost embarrassing to watch. The after shocks stuck with me. It made me really angry, but I wasn't sure if I was over-reacting. I brought it up with Rob later that day to see what he thought of it. He agreed that it was absurd and insulting. I felt more justified in my anger, but I still felt angry. I brought it up again with Becky on Sunday and she shared my anger and shared a similar story that had left her simmering in the same way. I felt even better about my anger and thus the need to pull out the soap box.

This piece says to me, "Hey lazy girl, cleaning the house isn't really work so why don't you make it worthwhile and work on that fat ass of yours at the same time. Don't worry, your husband will think it is cute and he'll be happy to have a clean home."

Seriously, is this where we still are with male/female relations? Are women, working outside or inside the home, still just Barbies who's real "job" is to look pretty and keep a nice home for her man? Those work outfits are fun for dress-up, but when playtime is over, get back in the kitchen and fix dinner. It sure seems that way in the eyes of the media. And with so many women anchors and women fitness coaches and women everything on these shows (aren't we diverse and appealing to women?!) you would think someone would wave a red flag when the idea of showing a stick skinny woman doing lunges with her mop was first pitched.

What do you think, am I over-reacting or am justified in my anger?

Charlotte Interviews Me

Apparently "the interview" is an oldie, but it is new to me. I discovered it when I read Charlotte's (of Charlotte's Web) interview and I liked the idea. Happily Charlotte agreed to interview me. So, here goes...

1. One of your resolutions this year was to cook more often. Tell us about something you have cooked this month, and how it was received by your family.

I have been doing some cooking, but nothing too adventurous. The best meal I prepared was sauteed chicken breasts with green beans, corn and corn bread. The corn was frozen and microwaved because Zoe won't eat green beans, but everything else was made fresh. Zoe would only eat the corn and the cornbread, but my husband ate every bite so I took it as a good sign. I have to admit I liked it too. Much of the point of my cooking is so that my family and I eat healthier meals and I feel like this meal was a success on that front too.

Here's some photographic evidence of this meal:

2. You trained as a costume designer, and now work in a completely different industry. How do you channel your creativity?

These days I find my creative outlets to be either writing or photography. That is one of the reasons I love blogging so much -- it is a great space for both. I dream of someday doing some drawing and painting again and I have some interesting collage ideas in my head, but I right now life is so busy it is hard for me to make time and space for that.

3. Money is no object. What is your dream vacation?
That is a tough question because I am not sure if my dream vacation is in one spot or if it involves multiple locations. Either way it involved 5 star accommodations. I love beautiful hotels.

So if I had to choose one place I think a month or two in Barcelona staying a suite with a beautiful view would be divine. I would do it all, immerse myself in the Barcelona life and hope to get mistaken for a local by the end of the trip.

A traveling vacation would probably be the Pacific Northwest of North America. I'd like to start in Seattle, WA and explore north and west of there. I am sure I would need a month or two for that as well.

4. You love reading. What was the last book you read, what are you reading now and what is next on your TBR pile?

I just finished a book called Smart Girls Like Me by Diane Vadino. It is slightly above chick lit on the fiction scale of quality. Can't say I would really recommend it, but it is not a bad book.

I am currently reading The Saturday Wife by Naomi Ragen. I have only read the first chapter so far so I can't comment on it yet.

Next up is The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. This is my bookclub's next selection.

5. The Michelle Obama Vogue cover. Discuss.

I think Michelle Obama is a gorgeous woman with great fashion sense and the Vogue cover certainly backs that up. I don't have any issues with her being on the cover of Vogue -- I think it is fabulous. It shows her to be young, relevant and "with it." The role of "First Lady" is strange and ambiguous in my opinion, but I have high hopes for Mrs. Obama's definition of it.


Rules:
1. If you want to be interviewed, leave me a comment, and I will send you some questions.
2. Update your blog with the answers to the questions and link back to the original post.
3. Include the rules in your post.

Homemaking, A-Z meme

It has been a slow (non-existent) blogging week for me so I was happy to discover and tag myself for this meme I found both at Becky's and Emily's. Anyone who knows me is probably scoffing already and even though they are right, I will proceed regardless.

A is for Aprons. Yes/no, favourites?
Once a year and only once a year do I don an apron. On December 23 of every year I get together with 2 of my sisters-in-law to bake Christmas cookies. We bake all day, get covered in flour and everything else and generally have a great time. Plus we make a ton of cookies. I wear the apron because I was given it as a gift and it has cute snowmen on it.

B is for Baking. Favourite thing to bake?
See above. I enjoy baking cookies. Baking is the only kind of cooking I can say I actually enjoy.

C is for Clothesline, do you have one?
No, but the neighbors right in back of us do so we get to see their clothes drying on the line all the time without the work. It is quite a view -- especially when the nightgowns are up.

D is for Doughnuts. Have you ever made them?
Yes. Once. In 7th grade home economics. Buying them at Dunkin Donuts is a lot easier.

E is for Everyday. One home making task you do every day.
Laundry. Dirty clothes, sheets, and towels multiply exponentially in my hamper therefore rare is the day that goes by that I don't do at least one load of laundry. It just never ends. And if I skip a day it is as if I skipped a month.

F is for Freezer. Do you have a separate deep freeze?
No, but I wish we did. I would stock it with ice cream. What else would you use it for?

G is for Garbage Disposal Unit. Do you have one?
Yes, we have one. I use it now and then. It is rather convenient at times, but I did not know it was bad for the environment as I read on Emily's post. I will have to look into that and re-think my disposal use.

H is for Handbook. What’s your favourite home making resource?
My favorite home making resource is not a handbook, it is a person -- my cleaning lady. She is heaven sent. My second favorite resource is take-out menus.

I is for Ironing. Love it or hate it?
Hate it and won't do it unless it is absolutely necessary. I would rather wear it wrinkly or send it to the cleaners to deal with it.

J is for Junk Drawer. Have one, and if so, where?
One in the kitchen for things like tape, pens, coupons, clips, etc. And one in my bedroom for small miscellaneous items like wallets, sunglasses, bits and pieces given to me by Zoe, etc. Also every drawer in Rob's dresser. He just doesn't get the idea of a sock drawer, a t-shirt drawer, etc.

K is for Kitchen. Colour and decorating scheme?
Our kitchen has cream-colored walls and counter tops with a black island top and red cabinet fronts. It is fairly modern with stainless appliances, but the flower tiles and the oak trim take away from the modern look.

L is for Love. What’s your favourite part of home making?
Decorating. I love to pick out paint colors, new furniture, art for the walls, etc. I will even paint and hang and move around heavy furniture.

M is for Mop. Do you have one?
Yes. We actually have a couple of them. When our dog, Spanky, was still around, mops often came in handy.

N is for Nylons. Machine or handwash?
I detest nylons and I usually run them in their first wearing and then just throw them in the trash. Tights I will wash in the machine.

O is for Oven. Do you have a window or do you open the oven door to check?
We have a window, but I never use it. I always opent the door.

P is for Pizza. What do you put on yours?
I am the most boring and un-adventurous eater you will ever meet so I only make plain cheese pizza.

Q is for Quiet. What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
Read or write blog posts or read my book or the current issue of The New Yorker.

R is for Recipe Card Box.Yes/no? If yes, what does it look like?
Uh, no. I have a couple of recipes stuffed in the junk drawer, but I haven't read them since I put them in the drawer.

S is Style of House.
Converted Cape with many modern touches -- hopefully more to come.

T is for Tablecloths. Do you use them?
I used to when I had a real table. Now our kitchen has a big island and no table. I like tablecloths and miss using them.

U is for Under the Kitchen Sink. Organised or toxic wasteland?
Definitely organized. Sometimes it gets a little crazy down there, but I clean it out fairly regularly.

V is for Vacuum. How many times a week?
Does that include dustbuster use? Because if so, then vacuuming happens every day. If not, once a week.

W is for Washing. How many loads of washing do you do a week?
At least 7 and probably more like 11.

X’s - do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?
I keep a to do list for work, but not usually for personal things. Once in awhile I make a personaly to do list, but I generally don't have trouble remembering the personal items.

Y is for Yard. Who does what?
Rob does it all except for grass-cutting and taking care of the outside furniture. I clean the furniture and move it back into place after the grass-cutters come.

Zzzzzs - what’s the last task before going to bed in the evening?
Put the dishwasher on -- we fill it just about every day.