You know, when I decided to go back to school I knew that I would be learning a lot. That is kind of the whole purpose for school. Right? What I didn't count on were the life lessons I am learning. Which is kind of funny, since one of the biggest reasons I chose to home school my own kids is because I feel that they have a better chance of learning real life lessons.
So, by now I am sure that you are wondering what lessons I have learned recently. The suspense is killing you isn't it? I just know that it is. OK. I will be nice and tell you. It is actually kind of silly this mistake I made, but I bed I don't do it again!
READ YOUR COURSE INSTRUCTIONS! All of them. All the definitions, the syllabus, the documents, everything! Read them well!
Learn from my pain and frustration. Last night at 9:30 PM I sat down at my computer to try to crank out my third blog article. I was exhausted. I had about three hours of sleep because my son had had oral surgery that morning and we had to get to the hospital early, then I was unable to nap because Federal Express delivered a box full of cheerleader uniforms that I had to separate, then a football game. Two very large Pepsis is the only reason I was still upright. So I was not looking forward to doing anything other than sleeping. But, I was determined to meet my deadline and get that third article done. I am so blessed that I read another person's blog question first and saw that we didn't have any articles due this week. Now it made sense why the two that I did write had no comments on them. It also made sense why very few other classmates had any articles written. Needless to say I went to bed very much relieved, stupid, but relieved.
Sometimes God gives us surprise gifts. This morning I logged on to see if there were any new posts and there I saw my gift. I found out that I am already two article ahead for next week. Even though I made a mistake, the two article I had written will count towards next week's work. What a nice surprise.
God bless you and yours
Deb
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Glamour Magazine's "real" woman
Finally, a nationally published and well known magazine is starting to turn in the right direction concerning the sizes of their models. According to CNN.com In Glamour’s September issue, an article was run about being comfortable in the skin you’re in, kind of a “what is normal, really” article. Lizzi Miller was photographed in only her underwear, in a very tasteful pose as an “average” woman.
The response has been overwhelming. Lizzi is a size 12/14 and considered a “plus-sized” model by the industry standards, which is ironic since the average American woman is a size 14. The down side to this is the fact that even though the magazine put in a photo of a beautiful woman, representing women everywhere, there was still a blurb on the front of the magazine touting 3 ways to have a flatter tummy.
Response:
The author of this article seems to be just like all of the rest of us women in the world that are not super models. Those of us that do not have perfect bodies, stylists, hair and makeup teams, or professional air brush artists at our beck and call are not being represented well in the media. Why, if the average woman is a size 14, are the majority of models sized 0 or 2? Why are most of the covers of magazines geared towards women subscribers “graced” with thin, perfect looking models as well as article titles touting the latest diet or exercise craze? Why are we letting them do this?
The article’s author recalls the point in her childhood when she started to realize the pressure that is put upon today’s young women. The constant barrage from TV, magazines, movies and advertisements has our girls already thinking that they need to be thin in order to be happy or have a boyfriend or be popular. It is refreshing to see that Glamour magazine showed a more “natural” woman in their article. I went to the magazine’s website and read about just how popular this three inch by three inch photo has been. The very day that the magazine hit the newsstands the corporate office started receiving phone calls and emails from fans that were expressing their delight in this step in a positive direction.
I agree with the article’s author as well in that it is a shame though, that a sized 12/14 woman would be labeled as a “plus size” model, but I am encouraged to see that at least we are now talking about being happy with our bodies. We need more “real” women feeling beautiful just how they are, and the only way we can start that is by changing how we see beauty. This might just be the first step in that direction.
The response has been overwhelming. Lizzi is a size 12/14 and considered a “plus-sized” model by the industry standards, which is ironic since the average American woman is a size 14. The down side to this is the fact that even though the magazine put in a photo of a beautiful woman, representing women everywhere, there was still a blurb on the front of the magazine touting 3 ways to have a flatter tummy.
Response:
The author of this article seems to be just like all of the rest of us women in the world that are not super models. Those of us that do not have perfect bodies, stylists, hair and makeup teams, or professional air brush artists at our beck and call are not being represented well in the media. Why, if the average woman is a size 14, are the majority of models sized 0 or 2? Why are most of the covers of magazines geared towards women subscribers “graced” with thin, perfect looking models as well as article titles touting the latest diet or exercise craze? Why are we letting them do this?
The article’s author recalls the point in her childhood when she started to realize the pressure that is put upon today’s young women. The constant barrage from TV, magazines, movies and advertisements has our girls already thinking that they need to be thin in order to be happy or have a boyfriend or be popular. It is refreshing to see that Glamour magazine showed a more “natural” woman in their article. I went to the magazine’s website and read about just how popular this three inch by three inch photo has been. The very day that the magazine hit the newsstands the corporate office started receiving phone calls and emails from fans that were expressing their delight in this step in a positive direction.
I agree with the article’s author as well in that it is a shame though, that a sized 12/14 woman would be labeled as a “plus size” model, but I am encouraged to see that at least we are now talking about being happy with our bodies. We need more “real” women feeling beautiful just how they are, and the only way we can start that is by changing how we see beauty. This might just be the first step in that direction.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Julia Child's classic book is enjoying new fame.
Almost fifty years after it was first published, Julia Child's classic cook book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, will be given the #1 best seller slot in the "advice and how-to" category on the New Your Times Best Seller list. According to an article in the New York Times, this is largely due to the movie "Julie and Julia" currently in theatres. The movie itself is partially about the late Julia Child and how she came to be the master chef that she was, but the cook book (along with several others) was used as a promotional item and that garnered the attention of many new readers. For a 752 page book, filled with labor intensive recipes using ingredients that are certainly not diet friendly, achieving such recognition has been quite a surprise to many in the publishing world. A pleasant surprise, but a surprise nonetheless.
When I was looking around for a topic for my first blog report I was delighted to find this article. I have been a fan of the late Julia Child for years. I was a child of the 70’s and can remember watching “The French Chef” on PBS.
The tone of the article is, in my opinion, celebrating the fact that a movie has brought about a new interest in an almost lost art. I agree with this celebration, and I am pleasantly surprised. Most of the time we hear the word “book” used in conjunction with the word “movie” it is because someone is complaining that the movie was nothing like the book. I have made that complaint myself. But this article's author is excited that a movie has inspired record sales of several books.
We have the movie promoters to thank for at least part of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” hitting the best seller list of the New York Times. The book was ordered en masse and given away at promotional events. But what took the publishers by surprise was that even after the promotions were over, people wanted to buy the book. Almost fifty years after it was first put into print as a way to introduce American women to French cuisine; “Mastering” has a whole new audience. And what a wonderful new audience it is.
So many people today east fast food, or food that is made fast, things out of boxes, bags, cartons, cans and tubs. It is no wonder that a whole new generation wants to learn how to cook from scratch and is curious about butter, goose fat, pork fat and salt. Ok, not the most healthful things one can eat, admittedly, but my point is that in trying to find a way to avoid any fat, calories and salt we have traveled away from our cooking roots, and I think that many people want to get back to them. Seeing Julia Child’s life being represented on the big screen and witnessing her love of good food has certainly helped as well.
Several other books have become more popular as a result of both the movie and the new curiosity it has caused. “Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom” has had several printing runs this season and is second only to “Mastering the French Kitchen” on the best seller list. One of the biographies of Julia Child: “My Life in France” has enjoyed “sold out” status as has the book “Julie and Julia”, the inspiration for the movie of the same name. Adding to my delight of this article was a quote at the end, from the movie’s writer and director, Nora Ephron, stating that it was a secret hope of hers to inspire more cooking with the film. I am happy that her secret hope was realized.
When I was looking around for a topic for my first blog report I was delighted to find this article. I have been a fan of the late Julia Child for years. I was a child of the 70’s and can remember watching “The French Chef” on PBS.
The tone of the article is, in my opinion, celebrating the fact that a movie has brought about a new interest in an almost lost art. I agree with this celebration, and I am pleasantly surprised. Most of the time we hear the word “book” used in conjunction with the word “movie” it is because someone is complaining that the movie was nothing like the book. I have made that complaint myself. But this article's author is excited that a movie has inspired record sales of several books.
We have the movie promoters to thank for at least part of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” hitting the best seller list of the New York Times. The book was ordered en masse and given away at promotional events. But what took the publishers by surprise was that even after the promotions were over, people wanted to buy the book. Almost fifty years after it was first put into print as a way to introduce American women to French cuisine; “Mastering” has a whole new audience. And what a wonderful new audience it is.
So many people today east fast food, or food that is made fast, things out of boxes, bags, cartons, cans and tubs. It is no wonder that a whole new generation wants to learn how to cook from scratch and is curious about butter, goose fat, pork fat and salt. Ok, not the most healthful things one can eat, admittedly, but my point is that in trying to find a way to avoid any fat, calories and salt we have traveled away from our cooking roots, and I think that many people want to get back to them. Seeing Julia Child’s life being represented on the big screen and witnessing her love of good food has certainly helped as well.
Several other books have become more popular as a result of both the movie and the new curiosity it has caused. “Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom” has had several printing runs this season and is second only to “Mastering the French Kitchen” on the best seller list. One of the biographies of Julia Child: “My Life in France” has enjoyed “sold out” status as has the book “Julie and Julia”, the inspiration for the movie of the same name. Adding to my delight of this article was a quote at the end, from the movie’s writer and director, Nora Ephron, stating that it was a secret hope of hers to inspire more cooking with the film. I am happy that her secret hope was realized.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Why my addy is what it is.
It is 10:30 and even though that may seem early to some, it is a perfect time to close out my day. Today I have: home schooled my Jr. in high school and my 8th grader in Jr. High, directed the house work, helped my college bound 19 year old (with a math learning disability) with more math work and re-introduced my brain to studying for myself. I finally got to understanding the text after a 1 liter bottle of sweet tea. My poor substitute for a diet pepsi or my fave... a cherry vanilla Coke. So for me... it is time for bed! Tomorrow looks to be just as busy, a Spring Formal planning meeting, cheer practice to direct for the 8th grader and make sure the Jr. gets to football practice. *YAWN* See y'all later!
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