Take My Advice

Occasionally, I like to point out what facebook was created for. The commencement of facebook and what it has become are very different.

And I am sure I am being completely insensitive when I say that the child updates/profile pictures are - well..... not what Zuckerberg had intended facebook to entail when it was created. I know, I know, I have photos of my dog on there.

Here's the thing. I am a child of the 1980s. If I knew that my parents had blasted photos of me and funny quotes that are currently sitting out there in cyber world, I think I would be weirded out by it.

So this is why I have decided to stop putting up photos on facebook of the children. Not mine. I have none. But of other people's children. Because I feel like I am exploiting them.

And on a totally separate note, I want to say that last year for work, we were asked to give our new year's resolutions I succeeded in mine. Yes - I vowed to stop carrying three bags and a coffee cup to work and it worked all year! Yes!!

Also - since I like to give unsolicited advice out here and never get much feedback, have any of you stopped using so much water? Started exercising? Ended a relationship? or simply started some therapy?

It completely baffles me why more people don't take better care of themselves. How can people continue to do nothing for exercise and eat garbage while watching reality television all day long? The perks of exercise are so AMAZINGLY incredible which INCLUDE:

1) Better mood
2) More energy

Hello?!

Oh! Did I mention looking good? Skinny waist!And you will skip an avocado because it is fattening and eat fried cheese curds?? What is that all about?

And what's the deal with marrying your first true love? Do you really think thirty years down the road, you aren't going to have changed and wondered what it would be like to live alone? Or date someone else? What is that all about?

Oh - and see that photo I have here with the non-exploited child? Yeah, with the Christmassy background? Yeah, that's right. Because I am agnostic, I guess.

I would also like to admit that I complain a lot that Madison is not diverse but don't do anything about it [Like a typical American]. I was thrilled to have attended a dinner party the other night that included four foreigners. And they were not all caucasian. I am making progress.

Lastly, I will share with you that my greatest fears are losing my dog and falling on the ice and not being able to run. Any suggestions?

Have a great day!

Baby Boom

Wow! Long time, no talk, people.

I feel so lucky because I had the best summer ever. I just took Madison in and didn't take it for granted.

One Saturday, I was about to go boating and I had a little baby on my hip. "My sister is due any day," I told the proud parents. And just then, I received a text that my sister was in labor.

So, I went to meet the baby. And we talked a lot. Not the baby and me. We didn't talk at all. In fact, he just did a whole lot of baby things that I am sure I did, too. And Janie [that's me] thought more and more about the kid thing. I am not a natural with these newborns. I like the toddler age. That looks fun. But what happens to a couple during this time scares me terribly. I talked with my brother-in-law and sister. A lot.

And here is what we talked about: Vasectomy? Tubal Ligation? Which? So - something needs to happen to prevent the procreation when a couple is done reproducing. Correct? What is more invasive? One of them needs to do something. A woman cannot take birth control hormones forever. It's not healthy. The rhythm method results in more kids. So does the "pull-out" method. And my understanding is that most couples who have several children end up with abstinence anyway. So - why the heck have kids if you don't feel like that was a goal in life? [They did not tell me this, I have just read a ton on the topic]. No exploitation, here!

I still feel like at forty, if I can manage to have one, I would. But I am not going to lie here. I hate liars, anyway. I am not afraid to die. I am not afraid of a lot of things. I am terrified of child birth. I am perfectly happy and proud to show off my ten year old golden retriever. I have raised her. Yeah - she's wild and all. But, I have had her since she was a pup. I don't need to "squeeze something the size of a watermelon out of something the size of a lemon."

Besides, how would I give up my pinot grigio for nine months? Life is too good without kids. Besides, we have a horrible overpopulation.

MIA in Madison, Wisconsin

Sorry I have been missing in action. As an American (and Americans like to blame), I fully blame AT&T for my disappearance on this blog. Enough said.

What have I been doing? Well, the Wisconsin budget bill was strangely passed and now there seem to be some glitches with it. No surprise there. As I walk around the capital on my extremely routine walks, the protestors are still there, but not as many. The rallies still take place every Saturday. The largest one, taking place on the 12th of March.

My parents were here for the big rally and I think it made them nostalgic, bringing back memories of their time in Madison during the Vietnam protests.

If there is one thing I can't reiterate enough about the protests here, it is that these are very peaceful and calm movements. Don't believe everything you see on t.v. Any newstation referring to "dangerous mobs" also shows palm trees in the background. And we do NOT have any palm trees in Madison, Wisconsin. Last time I checked, people associate this state as a frozen tundra filled with blizzardy winters. No palm trees here. So, lay off the station that starts with an "F" and ends with an "X." The only good thing they have going for them is a show called "Glee," so I am told, as I have never watched it.

Which leads me to a topic of my addiction to Bravo T.V. Yes - I am finally going to publicly and very openly admit that I am strangely addicted to all the housewife shows on Bravo. I am slightly embarassed about this and if you ask me why I like them, I cannot tell you. Riding in the car with someone the other day, I secretly confessed to her that I enjoy watching Bethenny Frankel. She asked me, "What do you like about her?"

Me: "What do I like about her? That's a really good question. Hmmm... Her voice is annoying, she is obnoxious and loud. What do I like about her?" Pause "You know, I like her business sense and I love her husband. I think he has a great personality and he is so cute."

And the more I think about it, I think I like that Bethenny really established a brand and then did what I want to do. She got pregnant at forty and then married a great guy. I have said one child at the age of forty sounds nice.

Now, here is the other thing that is going through my head this month. I am turning thirty-one on Friday. Thirty-one sounds old to me. And while I am ok with having a baby at 40, I may not be able to have a baby at forty. So that's a little sad. Friday is really my third twenty-ninth, by the way.

While I started the creams and the hair dying at thirty, I have decided to grow my hair long (even though I think my boyfriend prefers this length) and start saving up for an eye lift, when the crows feet show up. And I am not afraid to admit it.

And every year, my parents ask me what I want for my birthday. Up until I was about 21, I asked for a little sister and a dog. Well, I got the dog for myself, but I am still hoping for the baby sister.

Gender Identity

And here is my latest argument. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about gender identification. I know there have been a lot of experiments and research performed on this topic.

I could go on about this for a while. But, my main issue right now is the color coding. If I currently had a little boy or girl, I would love to do my own little experiment.

Dress your toddler in some gender neutral clothes (say a little girl in some brown/black/green) and they are automatically called "he."

Our mother was pretty much against the pink for girls and blue for boys rule. There are a few people she made exceptions for. And that's how we were raised.

A friend of the family raised her two daughters quite differently. Daughter A was during the hippie movement. She was dressed in gender neutral clothes. She is an engineer who doesn't shave her legs. Daughter B was after the hippie movement. Mom started wearing make-up, watching her figure and maintaining her own appearance. Daughter B is a make-up wearing, nail polishing, skinny, little, feminine and sexy thing.

It is interesting, isn't it?

I am not sure where the color coding came from. Looking at art, I presume it started centuries ago.

But why not let your kids decide how masculine or feminine they want to be? My niece wears a lot of boy hand-me-downs. And I think Americans are over consuming in their need to buy more and more things (like clothes for younger children of a different gender, when their older sibling of the opposite sex has perfectly fine used clothes). And so, little niece doesn't want to wear anything in her hair. And when offered to wear a barrette to pull back some hair from her face, she rejects. Well, how about if her role model, the older brother wears it? Ok, now she will gladly wear one, too! And see, it's not about what is for a boy or what is for a girl. She wants to be just like him.

And with that being said, it is fine with me if my son wants to wear his hair in a clip because the girl down the street is doing it. He will figure out what is "masculine." And I always liked that my little cousin (although quite macho) would wear a dress during playtime. He is from Madison. How many boys will do that?

And the last thing I will say is if I have a baby (although I always sit with the laptop on my lap, which supposedly reduces your chances, so it's unlikely), please do NOT buy me blue things with sports logos on it for my son or pink ruffled things for my daughter. It's sexist!