28 February 2009

Stouffer's Frozen Lasagna is my Home Boy

Submitted by Brooke Hoover, an actor and comedian in NYC

Making a PBJ for lunch tomorrow so I don't go crazy at Pret A Manger or another "healthy" fast-food place demain.
I'm slapping my peanut butter on the bread and I notice every single thing I am using to concoct my quasi comfort food has LIGHT on it.
"Light Arnold bread featuring 6 grams of fiber!"
"Sugar-Free Blackberry Preserve - same great taste!"
"Jiffy Lite." ('cause Lite is supposed to make me think this kind of peanut butter is fun-loving with its misspelled name)
Even the silverware seems to sparkle with the word "light" like a dollar store disco ball.
Wait, that's just a reflection from the bread packaging, but, still.

Oh, Light Food, I am sick of thy lite blue labelling and attempts to taste just like the real deal.

Is it so bad that I dream of a fatty fat fat Alice in PreservativeLand where blue and/or white labels always displaying the words "light" and/or "lite" are banned and red labels rule the world? Beem me up, Queen of MSG ! Stouffer's frozen lasagna is my home boy.
Oh, but that's just a lil' daydream o' mine.
'Cause going down that rabbit hole is what got me into this nightmare to begin with.
Ok, here ends my attempts to make Alice in Wonderland metaphors.
I just really like Alice in Wonderland, guys.

I lost sixty pounds, gotta lose more, gotta stay on the train, wish Jillian was MY personal
_ _ _ _ in' trainer! Gotta be grateful, gotta be positive, gotta put white light (but not "light" white labels) on a faster metabolism and will power of steel, gotta keep moving forward on this weight loss - weight - wait - I mean "lifestyle" change!

But, first, can we please make a pit stop at Outback Steakhouse?

27 February 2009

Could I be a stay at home mom? Without kids?

Gillian Hurst lives in New York City working as an actor and writer. She is a twenty something with lots of day jobs (including research assistant analyst, scrapbooker, babysitter, secret shopper and background artist). Gillian hails from Lenox, MA and still misses the coffee shop on Main St. Gillian has many interests including Education, Travel, Cooking, Theater, Book Clubs, Green Markets, Composting and watching Martha Stewart.....Gillian is also the writer of the blog "The Life and Times of Priscilla Rosenblaum". For more www.GillianHurst.Com or http://landtofpr.blogspot.com

I was raised to be very independent. I am very independent. I am very independent in my first serious relationship. Marriage is in our future. Children are in our future. My boyfriend has a full time job. He makes money. I'm an actor. I work part-time and make no money. Since I've moved in with him.... I've profited from paying a smaller rent than I would pay on my own. We split it. But the freedom of a few hundred dollars has allowed me to act more. Though my checking and savings account are hurting. After I pay my rent this month and get a metro card- I will have ten dollars to my name til my next paycheck.

Like any rational person- I freaked out about this and got all anxious. I was looking up ways to save due to the economy and telling my boyfriend about it. He didn't seem to get why I was freaking out. I told him about my checking account and he asked me if I needed money. This was really sweet of him. I said no. Being the independent person I am- I've never been able to just accept money from someone, even my parents. And I already owe boyfriend money for our trip to Florida in April for MY Grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary.


My mother says I can't let him give me money until we are married. We've only been together a year. I've always planned on getting married someday if things worked out. But part of me wants to stop working(the tired, burned out part). Then I can focus on acting AND keep house. I think that would make me happy. But I don't know if not having my own income would make me happy.................

Neither would being a homemaker. I'm totally capable of working and contributing equally to our home. I don't want to live off another person. Thus, I like the word mom to be involved. Because taking care of kids is a big job. Wouldn't it be good to practise being a stay at home mom before the kids come??? This way I will be all prepared as to where to get the best organic veggies to make my own baby food.

At the lowest cost.... cause I'm a miser. But my hypothetical baby deserves the best!

24 February 2009

my feminist ancestry

I’ve been wanting to write about the women in my family for awhile and have never gotten around to it., specifically about my maternal grandmother and her mother. Their two stories have been inspiring me for years, reminding me that I am a thoughtful, strong woman that comes from strong female stock. I like to pretend that I don’t have heroes but as I get older, I realize the great number of role models in my life and in my past.

My great-grandmother didn’t want children. She married a man who was one of ten children. I don’t know the details of their negotiations, but she gave birth to my grandmother in 1927. My great-grandfather was a gambling addict. She kicked him out of the house. She was not going to have her daughter grow up around his addiction. She would take him back when he quit. It took him thirteen years. They never divorced, but my grandmother was basically raised by a single mother. When the Depression hit, many members of the family moved in with them. My great-grandmother supported her family until the economy recovered. She was a secretary in an office. My grandmother used to tell me about going to visit when she was on school holiday or over the summer. Her mother ran that office and ordered the men around and kept it working like clockwork. But she was just a “secretary.” When my grandmother tells me that I remind her of her mother. I can’t help but smile.

When my grandmother was around ten years old or so, she was walking with her grandmother on the streets of New Orleans. There was an African-American woman across the street from them. My grandmother said, “Grandma, look at that black lady.” Her grandmother slapped her. My grandmother was an only and spoiled child (her words). She was not used to being slapped or spanked. Her grandmother looked at her and said, “That is a black woman. She is not a lady.” My grandmother stayed silent but thought that that was simply wrong. She raised her own children to know that all people are people, regardless of skin color. My grandmother has been a good friend and great traveling buddy, and I will regret not spending more time with her.

Of course this is not the extent of the amazing women in my family. My mother raised two independent, strong women while holding a full time job and running a household. I feel lucky to have good, supportive men in my family as well. These two stories are just the ones that I hold close when life gets difficult.

GGWe: An Introduction

Girls Gone Wilde is a blog created to give voice to the passions and wits of girls, women, womyn, transwomen, and any other person that lives and identifies on the spectrum of "girl". We are governed by the following evolving policies:

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