Brittany's June Giveaway Entry!

Well, I am doing this a little late, but I just finished up my final exam at school and have some time to spare, and wanted to do my entry for Brittany's June Chic Chat Giveaway!

Not only is it a great prize, it's a fun little entry to do too, so feel free to participate as well!

Here are Britt's rules:
Write an entry in your blog about the top 5 things you love about being a woman and the top 5 things you hate about being a woman. But you can't just give a list, you have to elaborate under each one and give your reasons for having it on the list.

Once again, the original entry can be found HERE.

Here goes!

What I Love:

1. Girly indulgences - I am a fan of all things girly. Makeup, beauty products, manicures, pedicures, you name it, I'll try it (except that whole fish pedicure thing ;) ). Luckily, these things that I love go hand in hand with being a girl!

2. Changing/enhancing appearance - I love that when going out at night, a woman can transform into an entirely different creature... from girl next door by day to a smokey-eyed siren at night. Oh, the magic of makeup and styling tools!

3. "Chick Flicks" - I know a lot of guys enjoy these too, but they always think they have to pretend like they don't. Even my darling husband will make a big fuss in front of other people about going to go see a "chick flick" when I know perfectly well that he liked Made of Honor as much as I did. Me, I don't have to pretend... I'm a chick... and that's what chicks watch ;)

Same goes to "chick shows" that men wish they could watch without excuses (Sex in the City, Gossip Girl... etc)

4. The female body - Really, it's quite incredible isn't it? Not just the form, which of course is beautiful, but the ability to create and carry another being, is just amazing.

5. Advancements for women - Once again, it's quite incredible how much rights and expectations for women have advanced so quickly (in most places, at least).

Also, women tend to vote more than men in the United States, we aren't taking advantage of our rights... we're using them!


Things I Dislike...

1. Stereotypes - I don't drive bad because I'm a woman, I'm not less intelligent than a man, etc. Stereotypes are so annoying. In fact, a few of these have to do with stereotypes, it seems...

2. Weight issues - Oh boy. My husband quit drinking soda, and lost ten pounds seemingly overnight. The season changes from spring to summer, he slims down from the increased heat... while still gorging on pizza, fast food for lunch, and meat n' potatoes. So. Not. Fair.

3. Body image - While this sort of goes with the above, I think it bothers many women that it is okay for men to be overweight, but not "okay" for women. I have heard many women say that they prefer a guy to have "a little weight on him" (including myself), but have yet to hear a man say the same thing...

I was watching the Sopranos last night (6th season, part 2, Tony is HUGE). You can literally hear Tony Soprano wheezing throughout the entire episode from being significantly overweight, but he's still scoring tons of attractive women. Obviously, this would not work if the genders were reversed, and it's incredibly annoying.

4. Monthly Visitor - Ladies, do I need to say more? Sometimes it seems my life revolves around inconvienences connected to this...

5. The glass ceiling - the glass ceiling is an invisible yet real barrier that prevents women from advancing in careers as quickly (and as high-up) as men.

Why is this? How in a world ran and sometimes ruined by men, do we still allow this barrier to still be in existence? It almost seems that facts like these totally cancel out my number 5 in the "Love" category... hopefully it will one day change.


So there's my entry! Let me know if any of you do it too!

-K

Time Traveler's Wife Trailer

Hello!

I did a book review previously for The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and I just wanted to share that the movie trailer has recently been released! Enjoy!




-K

A Dad Weekend...

Not only is today Father's Day, but my dad's birthday was also on Friday. It was his "Big One", he turned 50! We had a surprise party for him yesterday.

I didn't write about it beforehand because I was honestly worried that somehow he would stumble across this, even though I don't give my blog address out to family.

So, my dad knew that there was going to be a party at his house, but thought that it was going to be a quiet barbecue with some people from his girlfriend's family there.

My brother told my dad that his car wouldn't start, and when my dad walked out into the front yard heading to jump Kyle's car, there was a crowd of people also there to celebrate.

I honestly think he was very surprised, though I felt like he was being suspicious about things all day!

Here are some pictures from the party...

Walk up to the pool...

Dad with the cake(s)!!

Russ and I with my Grandpa and his wife, Bev (My mom's father)

Dad with some prunes, and some over-the-hill gag gifts. Not sure why the cane needed to be in that position, my dad may be 50, but has the humor of a teenage boy, LOL.

And here's something I thought about sharing before the party. I had to hold off though, as I mentioned before...

I made a little video of some pictures. It was actually quite a process, I even had them mailed in from family to put together this video.

I just thought I'd share some of my favorites...

My dad and his brother...

My dad and I...

My dad as a baby... I love that picture.

Hope you all had a great weekend and Father's Day!

OH! And I also wanted to mention that my friend Ariadna is blogging again. Head over to her blog if you'd like to read her recent dating stories... sure to be interesting, at times not PC, and very true. She has the strangest knack for attracting weirdness, I swear.

-K

Oh wow...

I'm Blonde!

I went in to get my highlights touched up, and I think she added a few more, because I ended up very blonde! (And WHY Blogger, do you tell me that it's spelled Blond? I have never seen it spelled that way!)

I am still adjusting to it, but I think I like it :)

I always do this love/hate thing for a day or two after I get my hair done. I think it's kinda fun for summer though!

(Oh, and I will totally do my eyebrows lighter, I swear. Just went in darker and came out lighter, so they're a bit dark for the hair now)

-K

Tagged!

I was tagged by Ally at Today is my Birthday! to do this fun tag. It came just in time, too, because I don't have much to write about right now.

I left the rules for the tag at the very end...

What is your current obsession?
Hmm… I always have something that I seem to be obsessing over. I guess today it’s my hair, because it looks terrible and I’m getting it done tomorrow, yet not sure what I should do with it. This is a big ridiculous dilemma that I seem to go through every time it’s time to get my hair done again… and I’m sick of thinking about it.

Big sunglasses... (though these are a joke, I promise)




Other than that I’m really obsessed with bright nail polish right now. It’s just so FUN!

Oh, and Sims 3…which just came out a few weeks ago. Yeah. Pretty much obsessed. :(

What is your weirdest obsession?
My weirdest? Hm… Dachshunds (Wiener Dogs), Owls… I don’t know that those are weird though… Also obsessed with Sushi, Thai Food, and Pho (Vietnamese soup, YUM)… Once again, not that weird. Hmm, sorry you guys, not too much juicy stuff here!

Coffee or tea?
Tea. I never drink coffee, I guess I just haven’t acquired that taste for it yet. I do love tea though!

What’s for dinner?
Very good question. I have no idea, and maybe I should start thinking about it.

What 5 words best describe you?
Sarcastic, Easily-Amused, Worrywart, Friendly

I think the 2nd one counts as two words...

What was the last thing you bought?
My dad’s birthday gift, a shirt from Harley… I have a double whammy, his birthday and Father’s Day in the same weekend, Oy. Luckily Father’s Day gift was purchased awhile ago.

What are you listening to right now?
Cheesy soft rock on the radio in the living room. Currently playing: “You’ve got a friend”

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Probably Green Tea or Strawberry… usually have frozen yogurt though.

What do you think of the person(s) who tagged you?
She seriously has one of the funniest blogs I have ever read. I first found her blog via Andrea's lovely A Cat of Impossible Colour blog. I believe it was the entry about giving the dog a haircut and making a moustache. I was instantly hooked, she is very witty and writes hilarious Haiku as well!

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
For just an hour? Hm, I guess to a place in Switzerland that I went to once after I graduated from high school, I think it was called Lucerne. I could just sit for the entire hour and look at the beautiful scenery around me.

Which language do you want to learn?
I would love to be able to learn Japanese… but I took years of Spanish in school and guess that when I have to take language again I will continue with that.

What is your favorite colour?
Purple and Teal

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
I am replacing this question, since I hate just about everything in my closet right now.

The new question is…

If you could travel anywhere this summer, where would it be?
Since an hour simply isn’t long enough to spend anywhere, I would love to take a vacation to Thailand. There are many other places I would love to go (Japan, Italy, Switzerland), but I think Thailand is topping the list right now…

What is your dream job?
Hmm… Well right now I feel like my dream job is to be an elementary school teacher. I hope I still feel the same when I am in the classroom.

What is your favourite body part? Of your own.
My eyes, I guess. Or the eyelashes, since they are quite long, and I like that.

What is your worst habit?
Where to start? Haha, kidding (kinda). Well, I bite my nails, pick off the nail polish (and usually don’t even notice that I’m doing either), I watch too much tv & play on the computer much too much, and always longer than I plan…

What's your party trick?
I can wiggle my ears… does that count? No? Well too bad, I’ve got nothing else :(

Do you admire any one’s style?
I admire a lot of people’s style, and not always the same “type” of style either. I really love feminine and vintage looks especially though.

Describe your personal style?
Non-Existent.

What are you going to do after this?
As I was filling this out, my mom called, and said that she passed this huge test that she took for work. Huge as in she's been studying for it for over a year, and the test itself was over four hours. I think we will be celebrating with her tonight :)

What are your favourite movies?
I like a lot of movies… I really love Harry Potter. I do. I don’t care if I’m twenty two, I will always love these books and movies.

Some other movies off the top of my head: The Hangover (just saw it, hilarious), Amelie, Gone with the Wind, Coraline, Classic Disney Movies.

What is your favorite fruit?
Strawberries…Pineapple…Mango…Blackberries. I don’t think there’s a fruit I don’t like actually…

What inspires you?
Other people inspire me… books I read… I find the Dalai Lama very inspiring as well.

Your favorite book?
Oh boy. So many… I will just say a few authors… Wally Lamb, Amy Tan, J.K Rowling. As for single books, I loved The Alchemist and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The Time Traveler’s Wife. So many more… must move on though.

Do you collect something?
Books, sometimes random things, nothing in particular really. Clutter. I collect clutter basically.

What is your favorite smell?
Fresh just-picked strawberries at the stands by the road. Pine leaves and wet dirt. Oak trees and dust. My dog. (I don’t care if that’s weird, it’s true. She isn’t a stinky dog, anyways, maybe because she is small & indoors a lot.)

What are you most proud of?
Lately… just getting my butt back in school I guess.

How many times do you press the snooze button before you get up?
At least twice. Usually close to five times, which is why I have a backup alarm as well. If I know there is something urgent that I MUST get up for on time, I usually get up right away.

Cats or dogs?
I would say dogs. They are just so lovable and playful. I do love cats too, just not as much as dogs.

What’s your biggest fashion mistake?
Geez… I don’t even know, there have probably been many. I definitely know that in high school my friends and I overdid the glitter and rhinestones so much that I cringe at the thought of it…

Complete the following: Love is...
Hard to describe.

I think Love is loving someone else more than (or maybe it is simply as much as) you love yourself.

What's the best life lesson you've learnt?
I think Ally’s answer was perfect.

Kindness is so incredibly important. Treat other people the way you would like to be treated. The world would be such a better place if everyone could do just that…

"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." - Dalai Lama

If you could be a fly on the wall in any person's living room, who would it be?
Hm.. well maybe not in a living room, but in whatever meeting room the writers of “Lost” gather in. I’m curious if they just have a dartboard full of possible events on the show and just take turns throwing darts at it and writing it into the script… or is there some logic going on and everything will be explained in the last season?

So here are the rules for the Tag…

1. Fill out questions with your own response and replace one question that you don’t like with a question that you made up.
2. Tag four people

I’m not going to tag anyone in particular because I have already seen a lot of you do this… if you haven’t please do it, and let me know if you did!

-K

Book Review: Good in Bed

Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

So I don't usually pick up Chic Lit, but this was an option at a book exchange that the book club had at Christmas. I had read Jennifer Weiner's book In Her Shoes and liked it, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Review from Amazon.com
It is tempting at first but unwise to assume Candace Shapiro is yet another Bridget Jones. Feisty, funny and less self-hating than her predecessor, Cannie is a 28-year-old Philadelphia Examiner reporter preoccupied with her weight and men, but able to see the humor in even the most unpleasant of life's broadsides.

Even she is floored, however, when she reads "Good in Bed," a new women's magazine column penned by her ex-boyfriend, pothead grad student Bruce Guberman. Three months earlier, Cannie suggested they take a break apparently, Bruce thought they were through and set about making such proclamations as, "Loving a larger woman is an act of courage in our world." Devastated by this public humiliation, Cannie takes comfort in tequila and her beloved dog, Nifkin. Bruce has let her down like another man in her life: Cannie's sadistic, plastic surgeon father emotionally abused her as a young girl, and eventually abandoned his wife and family, leaving no forwarding address. Cannie's siblings suffer, especially the youngest, Lucy, who has tried everything from phone sex to striptease. Their tough-as-nails mother managed to find love again with a woman, Tanya, the gravel-voiced owner of a two-ton loom.

Somehow, Cannie stays strong for family and friends, joining a weight-loss group, selling her screenplay and gaining the maturity to ask for help when she faces something bigger than her fears. Weiner's witty, original, fast-moving debut features a lovable heroine, a solid cast, snappy dialogue and a poignant take on life's priorities. This is a must-read for any woman who struggles with body image, or for anyone who cares about someone who does.

My Review:

I think this book was typical Chic Lit, which to me means generally enjoyable and also a light and "feel-good" read. The book was funny at times, easy to read and relate to, yet at the same time delightfully unrealistic in places.

I don't have much to say about this book, since I think it was described pretty well in the Amazon.com description. I will at least mention; however, that I did like Weiner's other book In Her Shoes better.

Overall, I think this is a great read if you are looking for something light, fast-moving, and a happy ending. Great vacation or beach read!

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?

-K

Book Review: The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
This book was another one that I nominated for the book club that I belong to... I had read it before and wanted to share it!

I found some wonderful summaries of this book, but they were really long, and I don't want anyone to get bored with this post. Here is a good short one from About.com. The original can be found HERE.

About.com Review:

If you read the back of The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger you may wonder whether it is science fiction or romance. It is neither. This is not your average time travel fantasy involving a machine and scientists eagerly trying to break the space-time continuum. In fact, Henry DeTamble wishes he did not travel through time. He does so involuntarily, and when he does, he wakes up in another place and time, naked, nauseous and ravenously hungry. Henry's time travel drives the story, but is not really what the story is about.

The Time Traveler's Wife is about love. It is not, however, a romance novel, or anything close to it. The novel pushes on philosophical questions of meaning and purpose. It is built around connections and longings. At the center, there is love, but there is also a lot of real life description--family tensions, punk rock shows, jobs, friendships. Niffenegger describes the world so realistically that you will find yourself believing that some people are actually plagued with involuntary time travel. If you are like me, you'll also wish Henry and Clare were your friends.

One of the best things about The Time Traveler's Wife is the way it is told from two perspectives. It also does not follow linear time. The structure mimics the lives of the main characters. In doing so, it enhances the empathy you feel for them.

I highly recommend The Time Traveler's Wife for anyone who wants a compelling read that will give you much to think about and feel.

My Review:

As I mentioned before, I had read this book a few years ago, and really enjoyed it. It had been awhile since I read it, and since the movie is supposed to be out later on this year, I thought I'd nominate it for our book club to read (we like to go see movies together too!).

I enjoyed this book just as much as I did the first time I read it. It has a very unique and interesting story-line, as well as a wonderful love story. I know that from the title and description this may sound like a sci-fi book, but I hardly think it could completely fall under that classification, so don't let that scare anyone off!

While one of the main characters (Henry), is a time-traveller, the story doesn't revolve around the science or details of his time travelling. Rather than focus on this (which could turn this into a Sci-Fi genre), the story focuses on the relationship between Henry and Clare, and their most uncommon and NON-sappy/mushy/cliche love story (if that makes any sense). While Henry is involuntarily time travelling, Clare must patiently wait for him, sometimes for years at a time.

I don't want to go too much further into the plot, since it is summarized pretty well above without giving any "spoilers".

Bottom Line: I would definitely recommend this book. I do want to say that the book club had mixed feelings on the book, mostly due to the sometimes confusing issue of the time travelling, and where he is, and how old he is (and as a result, how old Clare is). This is something that I had to overlook (and NOT over-think)... I think in the end it all makes absolute sense and was a beautiful love story. Although some of the other readers were confused about the time-travelling issue, they did say that they liked the love story aspect of the book.

As I mentioned before, the movie comes out later this year (IMDB currently says August, but still no trailer for the movie). Since there isn't currently a trailer, here are some pictures from the movie that were on IMDB. The leads will be played by Eric Bana (The Other Boleyn Girl, The Hulk, etc) and Rachel McAdams (The Notebook, Mean Girls). I'm really excited about the casting choices!

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?

-K

Blue.

(Which is a very strange word, when it's just written by itself)

So I'm feeling a little down in the dumps about something... sad, blue. So I really don't have much to write about (not going to write about it today...maybe not at all on here, I don't know...), but just thought I'd check in.

I had a test that I was super nervous about today, because the class I am taking isn't really what I thought would be my forte, so to speak. It's a politics class, and while I obviously feel very strongly about certain social issues, I have to admit, a lot of the rest was all Greek to me. So, this class was highly encouraged by my counselor (didn't know if you all knew, but I'm going to school to become an elementary school teacher). I think it's ended up being a great choice, because I really feel like I am learning about something that is worth knowing. It's nice to read things and hear people talk about current things with our economy that I can actually understand much better now... well... at least getting there...

Haha, just had to throw this in there :) I love someecards

But as much as I was worried about this class and this test... I've found myself actually learning the information (rather than memorizing, which really never does any good in the long run) and I think the test may have not been a total disaster, I will have to let you guys know. Probably shouldn't write this or I'll jinx it or something.

So yeah, that's all that's been new in my world lately... Russ and I are still hoping to plan a camping trip to the park that I mentioned in my last entry, so that should be nice! Hopefully other things will be looking up soon!

-K