Being totally frivolous

We have snow coming down outside, and I've got a damned cold, and my uncle died last week. We had to go to his funeral this weekend. I spoke about it a lot on Twitter, and I've talked with family a lot. I tried to blog it several times, and scrapped a squillion entries. So, I may or may not come back to that subject.

I'm being completely frivolous right now. I'm watching the Sharks and playing around online. CafePress has changed quite a bit since I last used it! I decided to make a design suggested by my wife and my work husband. And that meant creating a new "shop".

I developed my own style as a working-class girl bussed into a rich high school. (The case of the mother in Ohio who was arrested for falsifying her address to get her kids into a better school district is another very serious blog entry knocking around in my head.) I was too poor to really fit into any style tribe. I couldn't even fit in with the Goths and punks, since I couldn't afford the "right" clunky shoes and a new shade of Manic Panic every week. I like lightness, and brightness, and fun. I like to combine things in unexpected ways. And I like how color stands out in New York City.

Somehow I've fallen into a real love for Lilly Pulitzer and Tory Burch, when I can afford them. I wear J. Crew, Old Navy, and Eddie Bauer basics. This is considered preppy. On Monday, my work husband and I collapsed laughing when a co-worker called me "preppy". She actually said, "I know you were preppy in high school and you're preppy now, but..." Oh, hell, no I wasn't and no I'm not! But I guess I can fake it pretty well now, especially since my wife's willing to tailor knockoffs and discounted finds for me. So, I took a little time and made this:



I'm gonna see if I can make a bit of money off of this, and add more designs. For right now, I'm not real articulate thanks to sinus pain and cold medicine. So I'll just share some links:

Ted Haggard admits to being bisexual, sort of. Because we don't have enough questionable celebrity role models! But actually, it makes a great deal of sense.

Can marriage be saved from southern Christians? They, not gays, same-sex couples, or any other right-wing scapegoat, are the ones whose marriages and commitments seem to be weakest...

The "beginning of the end" for Egypt's Mubarak family's rule Also, Mother Jones magazine explains what's happening in Egypt.

It's all feminism's fault that James Dobson's daughter can't get married! Certainly it's not impossible standards or endless rules rules rules about sex and love to blame...

At NASCAR's highest levels, some drivers and owners have gotten very, very rich. There's some big money involved. And then there are drivers like my Daytona girl Alli Owens, who begged, borrowed, and worked her ass off for a ride. Also, Johanna Long will strive to become the first female Rookie of the Year in a NASCAR series.

Finally, beekeepers in Brooklyn (yes!) worked very hard to give their bees flowers to pollinate and otherwise raise them right. The bees, however, preferred the corn syrup and artificial dyes at a local maraschino cherry factory, exactly the kind of crap the beekeepers are trying to fight! Bright red honey resulted. Soon we get to try it.