Mommy, What is Hooters?
Yesterday, I loaded up my kids and my dog and headed to the University of Illinois to visit my sister, Ericka. We picked her and her dog, Shep up and went back to the main strip to find a place to eat. Picture four people, a pug and a German Shepherd in a gray mini-van. (That has nothing to do with this post. I just wanted you to get the mental image.) As we drove along tossing out restaurant ideas, Katie pipes up from the back and says “Mommy, what is Hooters?”
Thanks for the Support, Diva Racing!
Just wanted to give Lissa and her all-girls BMX team another huge plug and thank them for supporting “Girls Can’t WHAT?” These girls are awesome but lack the same support that the guys get for this sport, especially financial. You can read more about them in an earlier post. Major kudos and high fives, ladies. Keep chasing your dreams! 
Being Me
Tonight I saw a woman at the grocery store whom I hadn’t seen in months. I have missed her very much…she is the parent of a girl who used to be in the same dance class as my daughter, and this woman has given me so much support over time…so much encouragement. She spoke to me tonight as if we’d never been apart, and she remembered everything that had been going on in my life several months ago. I was amazed. Then, before we left, she said, “You look good! You look like you’ve lost weight!”
*sore subject with me*
I shook my head as she hugged me and I replied, “Well, uh…no, I haven’t.” And I sort of…shrugged, I suppose. Then she looked at me and said (in front of my husband, no less): “It’s that self-image thing again, isn’t it? We all need to work on that. You are beautiful. So many women would love to look like you.”
Riiiiight. Oh, sure, I just got a call from Sports Illustrated the other day and they want me for the swimsuit issue…NOT! I think my jaw hit the floor, because I wanted to laugh in her face! 
But after she walked away, I thought, “You know, my self-image is poor for many reasons. And I wish it wasn’t.”
Do you know where you are?
“Success is a journey, not a destination.” Ok - cheesy quote, I know. I don’t even know who came up with it. It’s nice. A kind of “feel good” proclaimation to cheer us up. But right now I feel like I am wading through some serious swampland. The journey part sucks for me right now. I am a little burned out. My body is fighting off an ear infection (which really sucks when your primary occupation is a musician). That’s the breaks. That’s life. It’s all part of the Journey.
One of my band members, Lindsay, wrote a song called “Journey”. If I had a recording of it, I’d post it. I don’t even know all the words (I drum, I don’t sing). But the opening line goes something like “I’m on a journey/my suitcase is packed. Troubles behind me and purpose ahead…” So I started thinking about what defines a “journey” versus - say - a “road trip”.
I’m Worth $242.08
Taxes Suck. Capital ‘S’ is intentional. I started Girls Can’t WHAT? just over one year ago in late 2005. I spent the first few months forming the concepts for the web site and learning how to actually build a web site. 2006 was my first year to generate sales and I thought I did pretty well. Over 600 of my products were sold worldwide. My website hits doubled every single month. My site was frequently #1 on Google. My Alexa ratings skyrocketed. I gave numerous interviews to other sites that wanted to know how I did it. But when the year was over, all I have to show for my efforts is $242.08. Income minus expenses. Bottom line. Doesn’t matter that I spent the bare minimum in expenses or that the check for the bulk of my sales commission didn’t arrive until January of this year. All I have to show for my effort in 2006 is $242.08. My husband laughed. He still thinks this is a cute hobby.
If you’re expecting some inspirational tag at the end of this blog, you can stop reading now. I’m bummed. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I have a 4-year college degree. I was an honor student. My IQ is high enough for Mensa. The thought of going back to work a “real job” totally sucks. I shouldn’t feel this way. It’s not about the money. We are not poor. And truthfully, Girls Can’t WHAT? has experienced incredible growth in 2007. In just the past two months alone I have earned over half of last year’s total income. But is it enough? Am I wasting my time? I enjoy every second of this “job” but if I calculate my time over the last year, my hourly wage is about twelve cents an hour. This year I am up to just over a dollar an hour. Woo hoo. Break out the caviar.
Are You A Feminist?
Great Youtube clip where various women answer this question. So are YOU a feminist?
Happy Birthday Kelli
Today I was reminded that some of the coolest things happen under pressure. Today is one of my best friend’s birthday. I have been ransacking my brain to come up with the perfect gift, after-all the video she made for me for my birthday last week was just too cool. Yesterday, I called Trina at the crack of noon and nonchalantly asked “so what are we gonna do for Kelli for her birthday?” Trina ever-so-brilliantly replied “I dunno. Why don’t you draw her something?” I looked at the time and realizing my schedule for the rest of the day said “uh…there is NO way. What else have you got?”
Why Can’t Boys Have Bras?
It always surprises me how people land on my site. I realize with a title of “Girls Can’t WHAT?” that people expect to find different things based upon their mind-set at the time they are searching. (I will leave it at that but I think most of you know what I mean 
) Anyway, when I browsed through my stats a few days ago I see the search string “why can’t boys have bras”. Do we really need to explain this? Should I write an article on this subject? Is this not being covered in Jr. High health class or what? 
That’s like asking “why can’t girls wear jocks?” Hello. Anatomy 101.
Are You Right or Left Brained?
Dang - I am finding these silly quiz thingies to be more and more accurate. “If you’re right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.” Good to know I’m on the right career path. 
Girls Can’t Play Football
While researching my latest design, I ran across this nifty image on some site that sells stock photography. What kills me is the way it is listed. All of the other images of the guys, including the ones that are staged are described as “boy playing football”. But look at this one of a girl…it says “girl dressed as a football player”. As if a girl can’t actually play. Bring it on. I can throw a perfect spiral and I can punt farther than most guys, too. Girls football has become popular in the last several years and in high schools across America several girls have joined the boys football team. However, finding information about “Girls Football” on the Internet has proved to be quite the challenge.
I Want Second Place
My daughter has had an obsession with second place. It’s Pinewood Derby season here and all weekend she has been talking about winning a second place trophy at this year’s race. She doesn’t want to win first place - just second place. My husband and I are baffled by her remarks, afterall we are both very competitive individuals. One might be tempted to think that we picked up the wrong child from the hospital, except that Kirstie looks just like me.
So I asked Kirstie why she was so determined to finish in second place instead of first. Her response was very straightforward and logical. She said “because I already have a first place trophy from last year.” Hmmm….sounds intelligent to me. Not that she wants to get second place, but that she wants to achieve something different. I started thinking about this over the weekend. What do you have to strive for when you’ve already been number one?
Young Ladies Help Invent the Gyrobike
This web site was sent to me several days ago for the Gyrobike. This new bicycle was invented by 4 undergrad engineering students, three of whom are women.
The Gyrobike is a device used to stabilize bicycles. It uses the natural force of gyroscopic precession to recenter the rider’s weight underneath the bicycle as he or she falls. It is a flywheel contained within the front wheel that spins independently of the front wheel to create gyroscopic precession.
In other words, it functions like built-in training wheels. Very cool idea!
Check it out: http://thegyrobike.com/
Tampontification
In my previous career, I was the Business Administrator for a homeless shelter and my office was located in the same building that housed the women and children. It was my duty to stock and dispense all personal items, including pads and tampons. We received donations on a daily basis but I can’t ever remember having feminine hygiene products donated to our shelter. We always had to purchase those items. I never thought about why, but when my sister sent me this email, I was like “Oh yeah - we did have to buy those every week!” Here is the original message: Read more
He’s A Cold-Hearted Snake…
…And I almost looked into his eyes… Except he ducked back down into his hole before I could catch him. Quest and I were out for our daily neighborhood patrol today, and since the weather has been much warmer we decided to take the long route which goes alongside a cornfield for about 2 blocks. Just as we were approaching the field, I saw a little head bobbing up and down. It was small and black with the distinctive weave of a reptile and as soon as I got closer he disappeared. I hung around for a minute while Quest took care of his business at the fire hydrant on the other side of the road, but the cute little bugger never came back out of his hole. Yes, I said it was cute. I like snakes. Don’t you?
Happy Birthday To Me
Tomorrow is my birthday. No sense in hiding. All of you crazy extroverted people will find me anyway. My best friend Kelli sent me my birthday present one day early, tho, so I thought I’d share it with you. Kelli made a video of me set to Martina McBride’s song “Anyway”. Basically she ripped all the good photos off of my web site and mixed it in with several (if not ALL) of my drawings, plus a few personal photos of my kids and my dog.
Creating this web site is has been a dream of mine and it has been a long, hard fight to get it up and running. But today, I am realizing that the dream is coming true and things are taking off. It just gets better and better every day. Kelli is just reminding me of that. Thanks, Kel!
Will Batgirl Get Equal Pay?
Kelli just sent this to me and it is too cool. It’s a spoof off of the Batman tv series and Batgirl arrives on the scene to find Batman and Robin helplessly tied to a pole and pleading for her to untie them. Instead, Batgirl launches into a speech about how she isn’t getting paid as much as Robin is for doing the same job. Hysterical. You gotta see it!
Blue Is Still A Boy Color
Ok - so my daughter’s favorite color is blue. Is that such a bad thing? Last year, I shared the saga of picking out birthday plates in “Blue Is A Boy Color” and this year I had to re-live that experience in Part Two while picking out balloons for this year’s party. Today was just icing on the birthday cake, though. I swear there needs to be a class on gender education that explains to people that it is ok for little girls to like “boy colors”.
Today is my daughter Katelynn’s actual birthday. Being the good mother that I am, I took treats to her class today. Prior to this, Katelynn had selected blue and white swirl cupcakes to be made by our local grocery store and topped with a soccer ring. This afternoon, I stopped in to pick them up and as the cashier was ringing up my order, she looked at the cupcakes and said “Oooh, someone’s having a birthday today” to which I replied “yes, I’m on my way to the school now.” I should have been expecting her next comment, but I am still somewhat optimistic that women are smart enough to not assume a gender based on color or decoration, but I was once again proved wrong.
She shoots…she scores!
Hockey has become a very popular sport among females in the last ten years. In 1998 it was pushed to the forefront when women’s ice hockey became part of the Olympics for the first time ever. During the those Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, the USA Women’s Hockey team was undefeated and took home the Gold. Athletes such as Cammi Granato, Kathleen Kauth, Angela Ruggiero, Krissy Wendell, Vicky Sunohara, Jennifer Botterill and Colleen Sostorics have put this sport in the spotlight, proving that girls can play hockey, too.
And play they do, I found a cool newsclip on YouTube that features a group of women from the East Coast that love to chase the puck around the rink. This team of “weekend warriors” come from all walks of life and sacrifice their time and money for the love of ice hockey. That is pure dedication. Check out this video interview with several of those team members:
“The Palace in the Sky” Completed
I have mentioned LadyStar on here before and I just received word that they have completed publication of “The Palace in the Sky,” which is the second novel-length 18-chapter LadyStar story.
LadyStar: The Palace in the Sky is a completely original work of fiction published exclusively in a series of blog entries. The story is available completely free on the Magical and Mysterious World of LadyStar. Here is a link to the chapter list:
http://ladystar.net/freeadvent
Read more
Surf’s Up, Ladies!
Hang ten, girls - the surfer design has been added to the Girls Can’t WHAT? shop. I have to admit I don’t know the first thing about surfing although I would be willing to try it if I lived anywhere near the ocean. Unfortunately I am landlocked in Illinois and the best I can do is try to balance on a raft in my swimming pool. However, I got some help on this design from Paula over at Queen-of-the-Surf-Pirates who could probably outsurf most guys who own a board.
One Night With The King
I had already been reading through the book of Esther this week when my husband brought home the movie “One Night with the King” for our weekend dvd break. I am by no means a movie buff, preferring books to flicks, but this movie has some serious feminist appeal to it. So I put down my stack of library studies and tuned in to the story of Queen Esther.
In a nutshell, Esther is an unlikely heroine. She’s not your typical gun-toting, bicep-bulging woman of so many of today’s films with lead female characters who bash their way into the spotlight by overpowering everyone in their path. Those movies are cool in their own right, but “One Night with the Queen” carries a different kind of coolness.
Blue Is A Boy Color - Part 2
Well, it’s time for my daughter’s birthday and it has happened again. She wants blue balloons and all hell has broken loose at our house. Ok, not really, but there was some drama involved. Last year, I told the story of Katelynn picking out blue for her birthday party and then being talked out of it by my husband who convinced her that “blue is a boy color“. This year, she wants a bouquet of blue, white and black balloons. Sounds fine to me, afterall blue is her favorite color. My husband’s instantaneous reaction was “WHAT? Blue, white and BLACK?” Once again, Kate hesitates and then changes her mind to blue, purple and pink, which pleases Dad. This time, Mom steps in to save the day. Read more
Famous Folks Are People, Too
My band has a potential gig in the works where we may be opening for a multiple Grammy winning artist. This artist happens to be the favorite singer of one of our band members. Leslie has been a huge fan of this person for many years and the thought of possibly meeting her and even performing in front of her is a bit overwhelming. In fact, Leslie’s exact words to us the other night at practice were “Don’t let me drink anything before this gig because I will pee my pants when I meet her”.
Read more
Who would you have lunch with?
March is Women’s History Month, so I thought I’d kick it off with a little survey question. I have invented a time machine that allows you to go back in time and visit any woman from any place in any year. Your challenge is to select the one woman you would like to speak with the most and tell us where you will be meeting for lunch, what you are ordering and what kinds of questions you would like to ask her. There are no rules here. You can bring her into the future or take her somewhere else in time. Have fun.
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