Space: My Final Frontier
This post promises to be ultra-geeky… that’s your warning. 
For the last year or so I have been on the hunt for the perfect desk. Since I began working from home in 2005, I have been using an old, beat-up metal desk as my workspace. It was so horrible I refused to move any of my stuff into it except for a few pencils, mobile phone accessories and my checkbook in the top drawer. The rest lay scattered on a nearby credenza. The desk had previously belonged to my parents who used it as a spare desk in my dad’s dental office and was later passed to my oldest daughter who used it for a couple years before handing it over to me covered in girly stickers with glitter spilling out the bottom drawers. I kid you not. It was a wreck.
Not only was the desk in not-so-great shape physically, but it was small. It was meant to be a student desk - just large enough for a few books and papers. Not a printer, and inbox, a laptop, speakers, phone chargers, digital camera accessories and more. So for two years I squished myself and my gear into this teensy tiny space every day and tried to be as productive as possible. I put a two-drawer metal filing cabinet next to me which added some extra storage space and a few more square inches of surface to pile more of my stuff.
Underneath the desk was a snake pit of tangled cords to computer gear, chargers, speakers and all kinds of other gadgets. Just unplugging the laptop was a challenge in itself. My sub-woofer sat right under my feet and I lived in fear of accidentally kicking it or slamming my chair into it. My backup drive also lived on the floor under the desk and every time I needed to plug it in I had to get on my hands and knees to hunt for it. I hated my workspace. Loved my job. Hated the space. Read more
Daddy’s Boss is a Woman?
My youngest daughter, Kirstie, is eight. We have been telling her since the day she was born that she can be anything she wants to be. She gets that concept, but she has been struggling to grasp the fact that my husband’s new boss is a woman. He has mentioned her a few times at dinner when talking about his work day and Kirstie has frequently interrupted him and with an inquisitive “she?“ We then go through another round of “yes, Kirstie, daddy’s boss is a woman”. The first time we had this discussion her response was “I always thought the word ‘boss’ means a man”. Arg. 
“I respect women and I’m the freak?”
American Idol has been my favorite show for a while now, but I am very disappointed in the judging this year. Bruce Dickson, a very talented vocalist from Bastrop, Texas was given the boot by the judges after professing that he has never kissed a girl and that he is saving that first kiss for his wedding day. While it may sound too good to be true, there still are guys out there who are saving themselves for marriage. Yes, Hollywood, it can be done.
Bruce’s audition turned into quite the hot topic after the judges remarks aired last week as well as some parting comments by Ryan Seacrest who spouted off “Maybe next year he’ll come back less a boy and more a man.” Anyone with half a brain can see that Bruce is more of a man than Ryan could ever hope to be. Bruce’s response to Ryan’s comments were nothing short of brilliant, “A real man would rather wait than just do whatever with whoever.”
Check out Bruce’s interview and audition…
Girls Can’t Be Funny
This headline caught my attention from gmail this afternoon: Women Writers Scarce in Hollywood. The Writers Guild of America is reporting that women make up 27 percent of television writers and only 19 percent of feature film writers. Ok - I can buy into the numbers, but the explanations from the men had me laughing hysterically. Sarah McLaughlin, a writer for That 70’s Show, commented “I’ve worked with male writers who say flat out, women aren’t funny.” You’ve got to be kidding me!?!
Hollywood Not Immune to the Wage Gap
Randomly surfing the Internet this afternoon, I came across Forbes’ list of the “20 Richest Women in Entertainment“.
The richest actress on the list is Julia Roberts, who built her estimated $140 million fortune film by film. The Pretty Woman star was the first actress in Hollywood to command a $20 million-per-film paycheck, a fairly common salary for male superstars like Will Smith and Johnny Depp.
I knew Julia was the first to earn that amount of cash for a film, but I had no idea that men were already making that much for a flick. I guess Hollywood is not immune to the wage gap.
Why is Baseball Sacred Territory?
My kids are both in intermediate school, which in our district means grades 3rd-5th. We are in a very “small-town” type of district, but I have been quite pleased with the activities offered to my kids both in academics and sports. My children have been able to participate in every sport they fancied until now.
How to Look Good Naked
The title of this post is not meant to be shocking. “How to Look Good Naked” is the name of a new show debuting tomorrow, January 4th at 9pm/8c on Lifetime. The purpose of the show is to teach average-sized women how to be comfortable with their bodies by finding clothes that flatter, applying better makeup techniques and changing their hairstyle, etc. In other words, a makeover without dieting or plastic surgery.
I was granted the privilege of viewing an advanced screening of the first episode in it’s entirety in hopes that I would promote the show on my blog. I watched it, thought about it and polled a couple of my closest friends to see what they thought about it. I sent them the link to the screening so they could see for themselves. To be quite honest, I couldn’t believe what I was watching. Read more
Why Am I Doing This?
Ever ask yourself this question? Pay attention to your response because your honest answer is critical. This little question can be so pivotal in removing stress from your life and helping you to focus on your goals. To ask “why am I doing this?” is such a simple exercise that you can do it anywhere at any time and get instant results. Give it a try…
Erma Bombeck on Christmas
Originally published January 1, 1987…
No one loves a Christmas tree on Jan. 1. The wonderful soft branches that the family couldn’t wait to get inside to smell have turned into rapiers that jab you. The wonderful blinking lights that Daddy arranged by branch and color have knotted themselves hopelessly around crumbling brownery and have to be severed with a bread knife. The stockings that hung by the chimney with care are hanging out of sofa cushions, and they smell like clam dip. And the angel that everyone fought to put on top of the tree can only be removed with an extension ladder that is in the garage, and no one can remember how to fit it through the door. Next to the presidency, detrimming a tree has to be the loneliest job in the world. It has fallen to women for centuries and is considered a skill only they can do, like replacing the roll on the toilet tissue spindle, painting baseboards, holding a wet washcloth for a child who is throwing up or taking out a splinter with a needle.
Encouraging our Daughters to be Ladylike
I ran across a great comment on our current culture in Newsweek magazine:
“It used to be that moms would control the way their daughters dressed. But now we have this Desperate Housewives culture, and the moms are as influenced by the media as the kids. They’ve lost the sense of encouraging their daughters to be ladylike.” ~Wendy Shalit, author of A Return To Modesty
I am in the process of getting a copy of this book to review soon, since this seems to be such a hot topic on this site.
Half Empty is Optimistic
The “half empty” means you’re pessimistic analogy has always been a mystery to me. Yeah, I get the analogy, but I think we’re looking at the wrong side of the glass sometimes. Why focus on what’s already in the container when there is so much empty space to fill? The empty space is the exciting part. It means that there is freedom to create and do and be. It’s space. It’s room to breathe. I like the empty part of the glass. To me the glass will always be half-empty. In fact, I’m usually looking for things to pour out of it to make MORE room. Less is More. Empty is the New Full.
“Anonymous” is not a License to be Mean
A favorite stop on my daily round of news feeds is OpenSourceCommunity.org where I get my fix of geeky stuff. Yesterday, however, I was reminded about a story that first appeared last year about a young girl named Megan Meier, who hanged herself after receiving hateful messages on myspace. You can catch ABC News’ interview with Megan’s parents one year after their daughter’s suicide for the complete story and an interview with Megan’s parents. The interview is short and essentially is a plea by the parents to put safety measures in place for kids on the Internet. They would like to institute required classes in schools for Internet safety. While I agree that education is needed among younger computer users, I think there is a deeper issue that extends beyond the scope of the world wide web, where the “www” often stands for “wild wild west”.
Read more
Is it “Ho, ho, ho” or “Ha, ha, ha”?
Kelli pointed out this lovely article from World Net Daily about Santa and his traditional “Ho, ho, ho” expression. It seems, some nutjobs somewhere are protesting Santa’s freedom of speech, citing that “Ho, ho, ho” is not a politically correct thing to say these days. The temporary employment service, Westaff, is mandating that it’s Santas-for-hire replace the supposed derogatory phrase with “Ha, ha, ha” instead.
Ok, who thinks this stuff up? Seriously. Are there not better things to do in life? Let’s look at this from a logical viewpoint. Kids usually figure out that “Santa” isn’t real in about the second or third grade. Ask your average second or third grader what a “ho” is and you will likely be told it is a gardening tool. So does anyone really think that Santa is insulting women everywhere with his cheerful “ho ho ho” greeting? C’mon! I’d be more concerned that our kids will end up in therapy, traumatized because the new-improved politically correct Santa is laughing at them.
Looking for Gurus
Between the influx of registered users and the barrage of requests for help I have received via email in the last couple of months, I thought maybe it was time to put two and two together. A mentoring type of “program” was suggested to me many moons ago when I first started building this site, but at the time I didn’t had too much on my plate to put any thought or effort into creating such a thing. With membership approaching 500 lovely ladies and counting, I think maybe it’s time to put something together. I’m just brainstorming out loud here, so don’t expect a detailed plan to follow. I’m just looking for interest, feedback and ideas to see if “mentoring” is worth pursuing.
First of all, I don’t like the word “mentor”. Too close to the word “mental” and, well, people think I’m mental already. “Buddies” is too cheesy, although that’s the current term used in the forums, but perhaps I can hack that… Read more
How to Get Answers on the Internet
Getting an answer is not always an easy task. I’ve had people tell me I am “brilliant” when able to help them find a solution to their web design or troubleshoot their computer. I won’t dispute the fact that I am smart (I hate it when people downplay intelligence. If you are intelligent, you need not be ashamed of it.) I’m not talking about IQ points here either. My “intelligence” is the result of hard work and an intense desire to learn how things work. I also know how to get answers and get them fast. My suggestions are geared toward getting technical answers, but can be applied to just about any kind of research. Here are my tips:
1. Ask. Yep - just ask. Someone out here in cyberspace probably already knows how to solve your problem. They won’t be randomly emailing you anytime soon, so you need to make yourself known. Find a forum that specializes in the area you need help in. If you have a medical question, don’t post it in a geek forum as you are likely to get the wrong kind of instructions for resuscitating your hard drive. (Please be sure to follow the forum etiquette and do search for answers before you post. Oftentimes the answer is already there if you take a moment to look for it.) Read more
Voting for Hillary Because She’s a Woman
This subject was brought up in an earlier post, but Kelli sent me a great article from American Thinker titled “Republican Women Too Smart to Fall for Hillary’s Ruse” discussing Mark Penn’s recent declaration that 24% of Republican women will defect and vote for Hillary because she’s a woman. Of course the article goes on to state why this is a ludicrous thing to say, much less publish in a public newspaper. I still find it amusing that people think women vote “emotionally”. I think we deserve much more credit than that.
I’ll be the first to admit that a woman president would be cool. I’m already developing a Girls Can’t WHAT? design for that, but I could never vote for a candidate based on gender just to add another “female first” to the tally of feminist achievements. As an American citizen, my privilege to vote is not something to be sqandered.
I absolutely HATE discussing politics, but I thought I’d throw this one out for commenting. Is anyone planning to change political parties just to elect a woman president?
School Spirit
Kel sent me a link to this article about two girls kicked out of a high school football game for wearing body paint on their entire top halves, plus a bra.
When the girls showed up at the game, several people complained to school officials about their “attire”. A spokeswoman for the school said “We have never had complaints about the men or the boys.”
Hmm…interesting. When I first saw this, I was thinking “yeah, that’s really not appropriate,” although I have seen fans dressed in the exact same way on a televised professional game, so it’s not like this is a first. It may be a first for this high school, but these girls didn’t invent anything new.
The question here is that had they shown up in just a bra, would that be ok? My response would be “no” simply because the school policy surely does not allow girls to come to school wearing just a bra for their top and the football game was clearly a school function.
On the flip side, tho…I wonder how many times the boys have done this at that very school and not been reprimanded. Surely there is a school policy requiring them to wear a shirt to school events. Is this a double standard?
The truth is always exciting
Today’s random quote:
“The truth is always exciting. Speak it, then. Life is dull without it.” ~ Pearl S. Buck
I’m honestly not in the mindset to write this morning and for the life of me I’m not coming up with anything to say about this one. Maybe it’s because I think it’s a bit backwards. Don’t people usually make up lies in order to create excitement because the truth seems boring to them? Maybe she means the truth is really more exciting than we actually realize. I don’t know. What are your thoughts on this one?
By the way, if you don’t know who Pearl S. Buck is, you’re missing out. She’s a great author who wrote many, many books and often about women’s rights. I encourage you to find out more about her.
I am my own experiment
Playing roulette with the quotes at the top of the page over last week has been fun. I never know what I am going to write about until I refresh the page. No cheating - I take what I get. 
Today’s randomness happens to be from Madonna. I am no closet Madonna fan. I will openly admit to liking a lot of her music. As an artist, I am constantly amazed at the many ways that she can reinvent herself and carry on with her career. I don’t think her success is any kind of fluke. Madonna can recognize opportunity, works hard and is not afraid to take risks. Her words to us today are:
“I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art.”
Some might interpret that as “be unique,” but we have already learned that “unique” does not describe us. I think the key point to take from her statement is that we must not let others make us into something we are not. We must use our resources to be our OWN experiment. Don’t try something just because everyone else is trying it. Do your own thing. Madonna certainly has. Whether you agree with her choices or not (and let’s not get into that because I know that is a huge can of worms), Madonna has bucked trends right and left. She doesn’t look at the norm and try to fit into what everyone else is doing. She tries new things and we all learn from her experiences. Sometimes we learn that maybe we shouldn’t do what she is doing and sometimes we learn some really cool stuff.
One thing I’ve learned as I’ve grown older is that sometimes I think I don’t like something, but I find out later in life that I actually enjoy it. A good example (and I am so gonna get busted by my band for confessing this) is singing. I don’t like singing in public and for nearly my entire life I didn’t even sing privately. I was forced to sing in college classes, since it was a requirement to pass my ear training classes as a music major, but I HATED it. I’m pretty sure it is because I was traumatized by my grade school music teacher who once told me that I couldn’t sing. Regardless of her opinion, my grades in college from those ear training exams proved otherwise. I can carry a tune and recognize pitch. I majored in music, afterall, so what did she know? Read more
What does discouragement cost?
Another favorite quote of mine comes from one of the world’s most-loved comediennes:
“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” ~ Lucille Ball
While I do agree that optimism is the way to go, I think that discouragement can also be a good thing for us at times. Sometimes we have to sit in the bottom of the pit in and wallow around in the muck for a while until we can’t stand it anymore. Eventually you will get to a point where you can’t stand the darkness anymore. From that vantage point, we can study our options and decide the next move to get out of the pit.
Discouragement can often be catalyst for making a change. If you don’t see the negative, then how are you going to tell the difference between what is good and what is bad? If I were Lucille Ball, I would have changed that statement to say it doesn’t pay to STAY discouraged. Just my two cents.
Is Cheerleading A Thing of The Past?
I attended a local high school football game this past Friday and sat down a with a few neighbors to chat while we watched the game. (Ok I never really watched it - I don’t like football). About midway through the second quarter, my husband commented on how few cheerleaders we had. Granted, our school district is rather small, but there were only 5 girls on the squad. I looked across the field at the opposing team from a larger school (who were slaughtering us at the time) and they had about 16 girls lined up in front of the crowd.
Being relatively new to public school, I asked my neighbor (who works at the school) if it was normal for our team to only have 5 cheerleaders. She said they actually used to have a lot more members of the cheerleading squad back when girls sports were less popular. Now that sports have opened up girls teams for golf, volleyball, soccer and basketball, more girls are concentrating on sports than cheerleading. (This is the part where someone jumps in and says “cheerleading IS a sport!” - have fun with that.) She said it seems now that cheerleading is just an activity anyone can do if they want. They don’t even hold tryouts! Wow - that is so not the way things were when I was in high school. I knew girls who would kill for those coveted pom-poms. (Not me. I was too busy making the boys basketball team. )
So is anyone else noticing this trend? Are girls choosing to play the game rather than cheer for it?
Jennifer Garner Gets It
It’s always nice to see Hollywood stars who seem to have a firm grip on reality. Kelli sent me this interesting article about Jennifer Garner and her experiences with motherhood. I especially like her comments on fitting into a dress after giving birth:
“I usually feel like, `No matter how many girdles you put me in, you will not be able to zip this.’ They always say to you — as though it’s something that should make you happy — `This is fresh from the runway.’
“But what I think is, `That was made for some 14-year-old girl from Russia! It was not made to go on my body.’”
Women Can’t Be Police Officers
Last Friday night, my family and I went out to dinner at our favorite mexican restaurant down the street. Pulling into the parking lot, we saw two women police officers stepping out of their squad car. My girls were both excited and said “Mom, look at the police officers!” My husband made a short comment about it being unusual to see a female police officer and even more rare to see two of them together. I frequently notice female officers around our city, so I didn’t see what the big deal was. My girls didn’t care that they were women either. They just think it’s cool to see people in uniforms.
As we entered the front doors, the two female police officers walked in right behind us. I chatted with them a for a few minutes while we waited for our table, mentioning my web site and that the Girls Can’t WHAT? Police Officer was the hottest selling design which they thought was cool. A few moments later my family was seated at the booth nearest the cash register and the two officers at a booth about 20 feet away.
I thought nothing more about them until later during our meal as I watched two young men come around the corner and do a double take at the two women in full uniform. Neither woman noticed the men staring at them as they made their way to the register. Just as the men were about to pass by our booth, I overheard one of them say “Wow, female cops. You don’t see those very often.” The other guy leaned in to his friend and said “Yeah, they could arrest me any time. Dang.”
Amusing as that was to me, I still kept thinking it was odd that neither my kids nor I thought it unusual to see women in uniform, but the two men and my husband both acted like that was the strangest thing they had seen all day. Why is that?
Bump, Set, Spike!
After about a zillion requests, I finally buckled down and drew a Girls Can’t WHAT? volleyball design. This has got to be THE most requested design I have had so far, so I hope it meets expectations. The volleyball player comes in red, green and blue uniforms but I can easily create a custom uniform color or add a team name to the back of the shirt. Just contact me and tell me what you need. No extra charge. This design is now available in the Girls Can’t WHAT? Shop.
I’d like to share some interesting thoughts I had while working on the volleyball player. The “Girls Can’t Play Football” thread has continued to draw a crowd and there is a raging debate over whether girl should play on boy teams just because there aren’t any girls football teams. I was thinking that volleyball is kind of the reverse of that. There aren’t very many (if any) boys volleyball teams at the high school level. So what if a guy wants to play volleyball? We should let him play, right? How is that any different than denying a girl the opportunity to play football when there are no girl teams available?
And another random thought…why is volleyball considered a “girl sport” anyway? *shrug*
Stop Saying “I wish…”
Besides the word “can’t,” there are two other words that I just don’t like. The words “I wish”. To me, the words “I wish” are equivalent to the words “I can’t”. It drives me nuts when people sit around and say “I wish this would happen” or “I wish I could do this…” I literally scratch my head and think why aren’t they making that happen? If you find yourself saying “I wish” then something in your world isn’t quite they way you want it to be. Change it. And don’t tell me you “can’t”.
Comments
-
Weekly Updates
Get weekly updates from Girls Can't WHAT? delivered to your inbox!
-
Categories
- Girls Who Can (128)
- Guest Bloggers (10)
- Humor (14)
- In The News (54)
- Inspiration (240)
- Interviews (25)
- New Designs (60)
- Personal Notes (49)
- Random Musings (84)
- Uncategorized (1)
- Weekly Challenge (21)
-
Say It
- Four-wheeling Anyone? (6)
xoamillion2onex0 on May 15, 2008: I absolutely love to go quad riding! I hope to go on the dirt bike route also and...
- Girls Can’t Be Mechanics (3)
xoamillion2onex0 on May 15, 2008: Thats what I am planning to do except I want to be a diesel mechanic instead of...
Gema on May 15, 2008: Wow! i am a girl mechanic and i am always being put down by men saying how i cant do it but i...
- Meet Firefighter Samanta (1)
xoamillion2onex0 on May 15, 2008: I am a proud female firefighter also. I love this job. I wouldn’t trade it...
- Interview with Pro BMX Biker Alise Post (12)
Leatrice L on May 15, 2008: That sooo F**kin awesome man you rock i remeber my first time but i fell and just got my...
- Heart-Ann & Nancy Wilson (Band) (6)
kiki szul on May 15, 2008: this band is so freakin awsome i listen to them every freakin day
- About (49)
gretchen on May 15, 2008: Thanks for stopping by Jenn! I was just listening to Skillet this morning on my way to the...
Jenn on May 14, 2008: Thanks so much for this website! i stumbled across it when looking up Korey Cooper (a girl who...
- Why I’m a Lady Linebacker (1)
... on May 14, 2008: i did football and i am a girl! can’t we be equal!
- New Saxophone Player Design (27)
Leela on May 14, 2008: Hey! I play sax, too. My best-friend and I have played for 2 1/2 years now. School got us...
- Four-wheeling Anyone? (6)
-
Get The Gear
-
Latest Designs
-
Coupons
