18
Foodie Friday: Lotsa Latkes
Hanukkah is over tonight, which means that I won’t be seeing any more of these dangerous little suckers for another year. My waistline (what’s left of it) and cholesterol level are both thankful. I didn’t make the latkes this year, which was nice. Instead, my mother-in-law prepared these while the Dude took pictures. What did I do? Nothing but eat. That was the best present of all.
Click on the pictures to expand.
My mother-in-law makes the best latkes. (continues…)
16
It’s Good To Be A Feminist Housewife
I only do 3 out of these 6 things. Hey, a Feminist Housewife still has her limits.
I am a stay-at-home mom. I am a wife. And I am a Feminist.
I am a Feminist Housewife.
No, that’s not an oxymoron. Welcome to a new generation of housewives. We ain’t Donna Reed, yo.
I don’t mean to ruffle any other housewives feathers, but I didn’t grow up necessarily wanting this job. Like many, if not most housewives I know, being a housewife was not my professional goal. I didn’t go to college or two different graduate programs to earn an M.R.S degree. I was already wearing suits and handing out business cards by the time I met the Dude. I didn’t cook and I certainly didn’t pick up after anyone else. I had changed maybe 3 diapers in my life at that point. If that. Nothing about me screamed *housewife-material!*. The Dude and I married with the knowledge that we are equal partners in everything that we do, and that includes raising a family together. We are partners and co-parents. Decisions are made together and we work hard to make sure we’re on the same page when it comes to our relationship and parenting. The Dude even calls himself a feminist, too. It’s good to be married to one of those.
I was raised in the 80′s, which was a great time to grow up for a girl. I wasn’t raised on Donna Reed, June Cleaver, or even Edith Bunker. I was raised on Mrs. Huxtable, Kate & Allie, and Murphy Brown. Those women were smart feminist chicks who could support their families and hold their own against any man. They were my feminist icons. But my biggest influence was undoubtedly my own mother. After my parents divorced, she was the one who stressed the importance of being self-sufficient and independent. She didn’t just tell me to be that way. She showed me the way. I watched my mom work her way through graduate school while raising three kids alone. It was not only impressive, but it made a life-long impact on me. I knew from a young age that the key to everything was through education and drive. Become your own person before you marry and have the means to support yourself…just in case, my mother would tell us. Her pragmatism helped shape us. My sister and I were not raised to believe that we were little princesses and that Prince Charming would come along one day to save us. Instead, we grew up with the drive to be educated and financially independent and the belief that if Prince Charming actually did show up, well, he better be willing to cook, clean, and change diapers*, too. (continues…)
26
Foodie Friday: Thanksgiving ’09 – The Verdict
WIN!
I don’t usually gloat about my cooking. In all honesty, I fail just as many times as I succeed. But, thanks to Chef Ryan (my guest chef for Foodie Friday last week), my Turkey Day was a hit!
My immediate family is spread out far and wide, from Hawaii to Boston to Afghanistan. Needless to say, we miss quite a few holidays with everyone. But, fortunately this year, I was able to have a wonderful Thanksgiving with my mom, my mother-in-law, the Dude, and the Monkey. It might have been small, but it was lovely. For that, I am thankful.
I ate so much that I didn’t even leave room for dessert. That’s a first! But we’ve got leftovers for days. Weeks even. I may even have to extend Foodie Friday over the weekend to discuss some great tips for all those Turkey Day leftovers.
Hope everyone had a great holiday, even if you couldn’t be with everyone you love.
Thanksgiving at Ain’t Yo Mama’s House (click on pics to expand):
My tablescape, complete with felted fall produce created by my mother-in-law. How cute are they? I wish I was that crafty.
Another view of my tablescape, including the pumpkin pie I didn’t touch. I’ll get you tomorrow, pie.
Right out of the oven! This 15lb locally grown, all-natural, and fresh turkey cooked in only 1.5 hours. It was brined for 2 days and then coated with a sage, paprika, and brown sugar butter rub. It was perfect. (continues…)
19
Guest Post: The Dude Speaks (and Speaks…) About Marital Name-Change
Dude here. First things first: I didn’t pick that nickname, and I certainly don’t use it at home. Aimee calls me certain expletives and my friends call me by last name. Speaking of last names, after reading Aimee’s identity theft post (the one about maiden names, hyphenation, yadda, yadda), I offered to write a complementary post on the topic, as viewed from my perspective. Here goes…
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
— Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)
The oft-quoted passage from Shakespeare obscures Romeo & Juliet’s real lesson. While a rose by any other name may indeed smell equally sweet, I’m not sure that Signores Montague and Capulet fixated on scent. It was pedigree and genealogy about which they worried, and, to that end, names disclosed and meant quite a bit.
Names come to define and signify us. More than just labels, they also become laden with emotion, identifying information, and meaning; giving up a name means forfeiting a portion of our identity. People have come to know me as my name, and to know my name as me. I wasn’t willing to give that up when I took my vows, and I didn’t expect that Aimee would be any happier to either. (continues…)
11
Turn Off Yo Gabba Gabba. It’s TV Time For Yo Mama
My favorite kind of mail
I know that billions of parents were (and are) able to live without DVR’s and Netflix…but I’m just glad I’m not one of them. Just like anyone else, I need a break from reality for a few minutes every day. Rather than rely on psychotropic hallucinogens or a few glasses of wine, I’d rather just escape through the TV or a good book. I hate to say it, but TV usually wins. Hey, to give me some credit, I’m in the middle of a 750 page book on Lincoln. Wouldn’t you rather watch Rock of Love, too? Er, actually…me neither.
I hate scheduling my life around TV programs and I always hated that growing up. If you missed Saturday morning cartoons or an episode of The Wonder Years or Full House, you were screwed until the following week. Missed that one episode of Friends or Melrose Place? Bummer. You would find out what Ross and Rachel were up to from your real friends. I remember actually taping shows off the VCR, which never seemed to work well for me. I would usually either record way too early or stop taping way too soon. I don’t even know how many times I would attempt to record off an already full tape. It all seems so ancient in these TIVO’d times. We had it so rough, didn’t we?
One of my favorite things to do after putting the Monkey to bed is get an hour or so every night to unwind with the Dude and watch a great show together. Rather than wait for a new episode of some show every week, we rely on Netflix to enjoy entire seasons at a time. We tend to like shows that incite a discussion or even a debate. In other words, shows that tend to be on HBO or Showtime. Wondering what shows couples can enjoy watching together? Here’s our list of must-watch TV: (continues…)