Blog Project 3.0 has been going on for about two years, even though one of the group members changed after a few months. I love blogging with this group and I hope we can continue to inspire each other.
This week, Moma Rock chose the topic: Should anyone have the right to dictate what we wear in public?
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic. I will be only posting links to posts on this same topic from my group. So check back if you were hoping to read their blogs and don't see a link yet.
Between you and me, as long as the parent gets their kid safely to school and is kind and loving to them, they could wear their birthday suit to drop-off for all I care! Well, that's an exaggeration. I wouldn't want to see anyone wearing that! I just think there are bigger battles to fight than expecting parents to dress a certain way to drop their kids off at school. The only thing that stood out was how we should be role models for our kids. Why should they have to get dressed if we're going to stay in our pajamas all morning? I guess it also hasn't been an issue for me since I get dressed at the same time they do and the bus takes them to school.
The last time I wore pajamas in public (outside of Halloween) was when I went to my early morning class (early being 8:00 a.m.) in college. Even back then, "pajamas" meant flannel pants, a T-shirt, a flannel shirt on top of it, and a baseball cap. It excused me from having to shower before my first class. And most people on campus did the same thing.
In any case, I think freedom of dress is the same as any other freedom, as long as it's not hurting anyone. However, there are some places that will have rules on how to dress, such as restaurants that don't serve people who don't wear a shirt and shoes. (Really, why would you go out to eat without a shirt and barefoot? That defies all logic to me.)
I know that office attire is another area where there are restrictions. Being presentable to clients reflects upon the company or organization. I'll admit that I got the "Bridget Jones" lecture in the past. And it was only after I had worn the same dress several times without it coming to anyone's attention. (I wouldn't have minded Mark Darcy giving me such a lecture...not Daniel Cleaver though. Have you seen the first movie?!?) In my case, the lecture came from a woman. Mind you, the dress wasn't THAT short. At least it didn't feel that way to me until someone pointed it out. It wasn't like my behind was peeking out. I usually try to dress modestly, so I was definitely self-conscious after someone brought it up. Since then, I have not worn the "offending" dress to the office and have stuck with skirts that come down to my knee, at the shortest.
Shul is another place where there are restrictions on how to dress...at least in the Orthodox sect. My best friend and I were recently discussing something she heard about that was news to me...that women shouldn't wear the color red because it is seen as tempting to men. I never knew that was even an issue. I don't know how much red I even own, but I don't see how the color would be tempting if it's worn in a modest way. And I've seen a lot of modest fashion rules bent at my shul anyway. Women are starting to do away with hair coverings, as well. I don't feel ready to do that at shul yet, even though I go the whole week without covering my hair. I guess that as long as all the men at the shul don't ditch their wives for a woman who wears a red dress and doesn't wear a hat or sheitel, then so be it.
This topic made me think of this time that a close friend of mine got kicked out of a Jewish youth group retreat because she refused to change a shirt she was wearing because it had the F-word on it. I was so upset after she got kicked out. We were all teenagers and could handle the word, but some higher-ups didn't like it so much. She had the opportunity to change it, but she wanted to stand her ground with freedom of speech and expression. She's still very strong in her beliefs and principles and I love her for that. I probably would have caved had I been in her shoes.
Overall, I think it really depends on the place and situation in terms of how to dress. While I don't see pajamas being a problem at school drop-off or morning class in college, they're not going to work so well at the office. I think there are definitely societal expectations on what to wear vs. whether it will impact one's health or safety. This topic has a lot of gray area and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it, as well.
Anyway, you could always go hang out with Kenny Chesney and wear whatever you want....
I went into this first season of Fuller House with a bit of apprehension, since there were so many mixed reviews. However, I ended up enjoying it a lot and laughing from each episode. I even got teary-eyed a few times. It brings back nostalgic feelings from Full House and makes me want to watch that series all over again. (Now that my daughter likes Fuller House, I may need to re-watch the old ones with her.) The cast works well together and the new characters add a lot to each episode. Now that I'm done (even after savoring the season over a few weeks), I already can't wait for season two and it can't get here fast enough!
I am going to share my thoughts on each episode...as much as I can remember as I am watching them. There may be some SPOILERS, so proceed with caution if you haven't watched yet.
Episode 1:
When it opened with the original theme song and credits, I thought I was watching the wrong show. Then it went to "29 Years Later..." Not sure how they calculated time, unless they were going from the beginning. The series ended 21 years ago!
There were a lot of cheesy lines and random nostalgia that got brought up...like they had to cram every joke in as fast as they could. I did enjoy how Stephanie was calling herself DJ Tanner since she's a DJ. I didn't get the whole British accent thing and am glad she lost that quickly, even though it took Kimmy's feet to push her back into her own voice. I did not like her red dress. It made me uncomfortable to look at. I thought she was just going to pop out of it any second and give us all a peep show.
The baby is so cute. I can understand why Becky wouldn't want to let go of him. She seemed a bit overwhelming about it after a while. ("I'll watch your baby until he's in college." Really?!?)
The twins did not need to be there. I'm not talking about the Olsen twins, as I'm glad they are not there and it sounds like Michelle was given a good reason to not be around at all. Not missing her at all. No, I'm talking about Jesse and Becky's offspring, who are equally a few tacos short of a fish taco truck... Why are they even in college if they're not learning anything from it?!? Like how to be adults, perhaps?
I like DJ's kids. Max is so cute and funny. I love how he's trying to be like Danny and how Danny is so proud of him. Jackson is like a male version of the teenage DJ. And need I say it again? Tommy (the baby) is so cute!
I thought I would be happy about Steve being back, but he seems like a pesty neighbor more than a guy I'd want back in DJ's life. Why did they break-up after prom? Was it because DJ didn't want to get married at age 18? Couldn't he have waited for her until after college if he was that interested in still having her in his life? He seems more like Joey with all the childlike antics.
Speaking of Joey, it seems kind of weird that he was back at the house and that he was only there for comic relief. I'm glad he's having success in Vegas, since Tommy doesn't seem to like Mr. Woodchuck. I was laughing when someone said that Joey was 60.
Comet Jr. Jr. Jr....nice. I don't blame DJ for not wanting her kids to have a dog. Lots of responsibility.
I liked that they played a NKOTB song and danced to it for five seconds. Hearing "Forever" again was also nostalgic.
I like how Kimmy has mellowed out a bit. She's still goofy, but motherhood has been good for her. Her ex (or soon to be ex?) is hot. I hope he gets his act together though. I like Ramona too. She's just the right level of snarky.
The innuendos were funny and they definitely went over our kids' heads. I liked Jesse's comment regarding the ship and all the people on it, if you know what I mean...
And yes, I cried. Like when DJ was crying while talking to Tommy and everyone could hear how helpless she admitted to feeling. (I was almost hoping she'd have a Jessie Spano "no time" freak-out though.) Or when Stephanie offered to move in. Or when they all sang the Flintstones song to Tommy and juxtaposed it with them singing it to Michelle back in the 80s.
Episode 2:
If you can get past the fact that DJ seems like she's reading her lines right off an invisible script, the show is a lot of fun. I liked the refrigerator interaction between DJ and Stephanie, like when Stephanie literally spilled the beans. And how DJ's timing with telling Jackson what was going on kept getting thrown off by him finding out some other way.
The funniest part was the phone in the diaper scene. Especially when the baby farted. I also loved Jesse confessing about Becky's cooking on the voicemail message. Third place goes to DJ making the sarcastic comment about Stephanie knowing how to be a parent.
When did the twins' room get so small? And wasn't it on the other side of Jesse and Becky's attic apartment? I could have sworn it was.
I really like Ramona. She's such a great foil for the other characters, even though she does have her nice moments. I love how Kimmy got her into the house by throwing the phone inside. Sounds like something I'd do to my younger son.
For some reason, my sons missed the part in episode one where DJ said her husband died. My older son thought Steve was her husband. Oops. I felt bad having to tell him that the boys' dad died. He gets sad hearing about death and he recently read a book where that happened to a kid's dad.
Episode 3:
I love all the play on words and comedic banter that goes on. I am always into that kind of stuff. There were some great lines in this episode.
Really...why is Joey in town all the way from Vegas to babysit on a Friday night? I wonder if his career has gone downhill and he is not ready to admit it. I did like how he got the kids off screen though. It was also nice to see Ramona and Jackson getting along. It reminded me of the few times I got along well with guys when I was a pre-teen. Max was so cute with his "dark side." Where was the baby though? I don't think Joey could get him to bed that easily. And why did Joey change shirts?
The club stuff was pretty funny. I had this deja vu moment at one point, but I may have just seen something from the previews or a clip that someone had posted. It was when Kimmy got mad at Fernando for having a date there and dancing with her when the other girl wasn't around.
Stephanie is a great dancer. I don't watch Dancing With the Stars, but it may be worth it to watch if she's on next season. She also has a nice singing voice. I forgot that she sang on the show when she was a pre-teen. Like when she and her friends had a band together and tried to perform in the talent show, but they couldn't get their acts together.
If you're going to impress guys, why would you talk about the time you made a hole in your father's bedroom wall and then made up a song to distract him.
I loved the Dirty Dancing part. That was great. I don't know if I can handle a drunk and super talkative DJ though.
Episode 4:
"Erupting my volcano" as an innuendo was hilarious. So glad my older son thinks it just means going to the bathroom.
When I saw the science teacher, my first thought was "Bing! Bing again!"
I wish they had addressed Ramona's new kid difficulties a different way. That kind of anxiety affects a lot of kids and letting them think that getting into trouble will make them cool is not the way to go about it. There could have been a good teaching moment.
I'm glad DJ called Kimmy out on her parenting. I think that if it was outside of her home, she probably could have let things ride their course, but it was setting a bad precedent and she needed to straighten things out. It was hard to feel bad for Kimmy given that her ex-husband is still alive and seems to still want her, even if he shows it in weird ways.
Having said that, they need to address the elephant in the room about DJ's love life. She's going to be working with an attractive young vet who seems interested in her. And Steve clearly expressed interest in the first episode. I'm not really counting the guys at the club as anything more than flirtation and fun dance partners.
I like the guy who is interested in Stephanie and I hope they'll carry along that story arc so that she can eventually come clean about not being a busy single mom. The actor who plays him was on Hindsight last year.
Max was so cute with the dogs! Episode 5:
Looks like they addressed DJ's elephant in the room. I loved the scene with the blind date and DJ mistaking him for the plumber. That was Three's Company quality!
I had a feeling there would be an issue involving the "magic" scarf. Glad Stephanie resolved it, even though she did it in a weird way.
I felt bad for Stephanie in regards to what she revealed to DJ. However, DJ's reaction seemed so fake that it was hard to get completely emotional from that scene. Tone down the over-acting, DJ!
The part involving Ramona and the toilet was funny. Especially how she tried to pass off the blame on Tommy. Still, who in their right mind flushes a diaper down the toilet?
Overall, it was a good episode. My kids laughed as much as I did.
Episode 6:
I have to give DJ props for being an involved mother and also standing her ground on Jackson's punishment of not going to Lucha Kaboom. And then she tried to backtrack... And he's somehow un-grounded, even though he SNUCK OUT OF THE HOUSE and ALMOST GOT HIMSELF KILLED. Good thing DJ has mama bear wrestling moves. I don't like Jackson's friend much either. At least Kimmy spent most of her time at DJ's house when they were kids instead of the other way around.
I love how Kimmy was stuck in the 90s and how she was jealous of Stephanie. It was nice that Stephanie gave her a chance to bond with Ramona when they danced at the wrestling match. How did Kimmy learn all the moves so quickly though?
Max is so cute, as always.
My daughter watched this episode and she was laughing a few times. Obviously at the line about Stephanie's boobs. (It's a five year-old thing...)
Episode 7:
Too funny with Max training Cosmo on the potty. The zombie stuff was also great and reminded me of my own seven year-old. That kid needs his own TV series.
Why was it Stephanie's problem to keep the party going after the blackout? Wasn't Kimmy the one who planned the whole party?
Fernando reminds me of a younger version of Rogelio from Jane the Virgin. Aside from being attractive, he's also really funny and has a sensitive side too.
Steve would be a way better prospect for DJ if he stopped acting so embarrassingly desperate. He's making me want her to get with the other vet instead.
I liked that they addressed the impact divorce has on kids. That was actually genuine.
Episode 8:
I don't know that Max learned a lesson about not lying. The Danny Tanner of the 80s and 90s would have made it a teaching moment instead of pulling strings to get the fire truck. Still...Max was soooo cute that it's hard to not want to pull strings to get him everything he wants. Cosmo is adorable too.
There were a lot of really funny lines and jokes in this episode (like about the show's name when they were playing poker or talking about reunion shows from a long time ago.) I love how Stephanie got the couch to look the same way after it was re-upholstered. And the couch jacket? That's as tacky as you can get! Too funny how Danny was camouflaged though.
I am enjoying Kimmy and Fernando together. They have some good chemistry. Did I mention that Fernando is hot?
I like the vet guy too. It was cute how DJ ran back and kissed him when he said her name. I love how she and Kimmy were both walking around all smitten. DJ seemed slightly more genuine in this episode...less overacting, which was nice.
Episode 9:
It's cute watching Jackson try to flirt with and impress a girl. I just wish he were more interested in Ramona than in her friend. Ramona is a better personality fit. I love the mix-up involving Max answering the note and eating all the M&M's (and one Skittle).
The misunderstandings about the flowers were funny too. It was cute how Stephanie was still in contact with her first grade husband, Harry. Too bad it wasn't the same actor though. (I checked on IMDB.)
Becky was pretty funny with getting all involved in the flower drama. She was a bit more annoying with spending so much time with Tommy. My husband guessed who the flowers were from and he was right. And I'm glad he was!
Regardless of whether Matt (the vet) sent the flowers or not, it was still pretty creepy that he called all those dentists to see if DJ was there. He's not much better than Steve in that respect.
I think the ending of the episode could have had more impact if DJ felt more believable. I felt worse for Stephanie than I did for DJ.
Episode 10:
There were a lot of funny moments in this episode. I can't really feel sorry for DJ at all right now. She has TWO guys interested in her. Such a difficult life... ;) The best part was when she made them kiss at the end. My daughter was acting that out with her stuffed animals. :)
Max was so cute at the game and I'm glad he was able to get a ball at the end.
I was a bit annoyed with the whole Jackson and Lola courtship. I don't like Lola. She's so manipulative. He needs to be with Ramona! I felt bad for her that she got ditched during the game. I'm glad he got in trouble over buying the shirt on Matt's credit card. That was such a lame thing to do.
I'm glad Stephanie publicly broke up with the baseball player. I don't see where the attraction is. I'd rather Darren come back and then she is forced to get real with him about not actually being a single mother. (Okay...it's because the actor is from Hindsight, but still!!!)
Episode 11:
I had a feeling Dr. Harmon was going to play the nepotism card. I also had a feeling Matt would ask DJ to partner with him. I was right about both.
So funny how Max was blackmailing Jackson and Ramona. He's more devious than I thought. ;) I love how he saved up all that money though. It was funny in the beginning when he took Tommy into the bathroom since Tommy was covered in all the toilet paper.
I wonder if anything more is going to happen with DJ and Steve.
The idea of Kimmy and Stephanie partnering is fun to explore. They seem to have an interesting balance. The part with the cow in the kitchen was hilarious. I love how everyone kept blaming Kimmy. The going away party for Dr. Harmon was great aesthetically and I loved the dancing. Apparently people were offended by it, but I didn't see it being offensive. They were dressed in pretty outfits and the dances looked accurate based on what I've seen in other shows.
Episode 12:
This was just a really cute episode overall. I loved all the stuff with Max not wanting to lose. Reminds me of my kids. The Twister re-match was funny.
I loved Fernando's scavenger hunt for Kimmy. And it had such an interesting twist at the end. Plus, the part with Stephanie singing to Kimmy was hilarious.
Steve and DJ trying to relive the 90s was great too. And yes, I caught the Alanis Morissette comment. It was awkward having to listen to them sing together, but the kiss at the end made it worth it. Steve has been a lot more like his old self instead of the desperate pathetic version of himself from earlier in the season. It is tough for DJ to choose between the two, but right now I'm on #TeamSteve too.
Episode 13:
This episode was bittersweet in some ways. Knowing that it's the last until next year, for starters. Also thinking that Kimmy and Ramona are going to move out.
It was funny how Kimmy and Stephanie were being so devious about inviting the guys to be DJ's date at the wedding. I can imagine that it must have been hard to choose between both of them. I'm glad she made the choice that she did. And I love how Steve and Matt ended up bonding as a result.
I also liked when they kept speeding up the wedding every time Kimmy thought she could go through with it. I guess I need to know more of Fernando and Kimmy's marriage in the past to know why DJ is against them getting back together. Fernando is hot, funny, and romantic, but I don't know that he is the right match for Kimmy. I think she needs something more. I'm glad she decided to stay with DJ in the end.
Some of the stuff with Jesse and Becky was weird. Like they're all romantic and in love, but then Becky ditches Jesse to go out with the girls and later to spend time with the baby. It was cute how the baby took Jesse's burger.
I liked the song Stephanie sang at the wedding. It was funny how everyone was looking at each other and they had Joey and Mr. Woodchuck giving each other glances at the end of the song. The only one missing from this episode was Danny. It seemed weird that he wasn't there.
Max was really cute with the Lord of the Rings stuff and how he was disappointed that he didn't get to do all that much during the ceremony. I also love how he called himself "Max Money" at the end.
DJ mellowed out a lot by the end of this season and seemed more natural than she did at the beginning.
Closing this post with the theme song (and I still think they say "even MTV" instead of "evening TV").
My husband and I have been married 12 years now and we still love each other like crazy. For this year's anniversary post, I'm going to share about 12 TV shows and 12 movies....four we each like separately and four we both enjoy.
Movies
Me:
1. Moving Violations
2. Grease 2
3. Girls Just Want to Have Fun
4. Overboard
My husband:
1. Blazing Saddles
2. Caddyshack
3. Avengers (I know there are a whole bunch of them)
4. Hunger Games trilogy
Both:
1. Happy Gilmore
2. Wreck-It Ralph
3. Life is Beautiful
4. The Princess Bride
TV Shows
Me:
1. The Mindy Project
2. Parenthood
3. Jane the Virgin
4. Younger
My husband:
1. Game of Thrones
2. Breaking Bad
3. Black Mirror
4. Silicon Valley
Both:
1. Orphan Black
2. Modern Family
3. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
4. Orange is the New Black
I like that we can enjoy some shows and movies on our own as "guilty pleasures" and also have some quality time watching stuff we both enjoy.
Blog Project 3.0 has been going on for about two years, even though one of the group members changed after a few months. I love blogging with this group and I hope we can continue to inspire each other.
This week, Darwin Shrugged chose the topic: Do you consider yourself a conspiracy theorist? First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic. I will be only posting links to posts on this same topic from my group. So check back if you were hoping to read their blogs and don't see a link yet.
One of my favorite blogs, Airing My Laundry, does a post every week that was inspired by a section of Glamour magazine. She invites her followers to do their own posts like this. I enjoy doing this a every so often, so I thought it's time for another list. Since I don't do this weekly, my list will be long.
It's okay...
*To get my son interested in Hamilton to the point where we sing the songs together and watch videos about it. We came across this funny spoof where this high school is trying to rehearse for a performance. The director reminds me of Will Schuester after drinking a lot of coffee.
*To listen to Hamilton over and over to learn the words better and try to figure out what is going on.
*To want to abandon my "no posts about politics" rule to post about how horrible Donald Drumpf is and why no one should be voting for them if they have a brain in their body. I posted one article that I felt was relevant enough and also deleted all comments related to it, whether positive or negative. I also posted some that involved anti-Semitic comments or ridiculous behaviors from him. This one is really tempting to post...
*To be excited to see Zootopia later this month.
*To be looking forward to my mom and sister's visit soon.
*To have watched Fuller House and liked it.
*To have taken my kids to Turkey Hill Experience for my daughter's fifth birthday. They had a blast! We all got to make our own ice cream flavors in the taste lab.
Family selfie in the taste lab
*That my younger son will be eight years old soon!
He was just born!!!
*That my favorite shows are coming back soon...The Mindy Project and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt both return in mid-April! Then there's Orphan Black and Orange is the New Black a bit later on.
*To be celebrating 12 years of marriage next week! And to be thankful that my husband is so amazing. Especially after all the dating and marriage horror stories out there.
One of my favorite pics of us from our first year of dating
*To tell my daughter she's beautiful and smart. I'm sick of all the sanctimonious parental judgment regarding this. I love my daughter and can't look at her without thinking she's beautiful or listen to her without thinking she's smart, and saying it out loud. It's about as instinctual as breathing. If nothing else, it will give her confidence.
*To attend a workshop led by Shasta Nelson, to learn more about "Frientimacy" (forming deeper and more meaningful friendships), which is also the title of her new book.
*To not know what to dress as for Purim, which is in a few weeks.
Blog Project 3.0 has been going on for about two years, even though one of the group members changed after a few months. I love blogging with this group and I hope we can continue to inspire each other.
This week, Froggie chose the topic: My childhood home First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic. I will be only posting links to posts on this same topic from my group. So check back if you were hoping to read their blogs and don't see a link yet.
This topic is a great fit with the new Full House series, Fuller House. Everyone is back in the same home from 29 years ago; the one the girls grew up in.
Froggie doesn't know that I wrote about this at my blog a while back. It wasn't for any of our blog projects and I wasn't going to tell her to pick a different topic, as I want to see what everyone else has to say about their homes. However this is going to stay short and sweet and I will include some photos here in the meantime.
I was looking my childhood home up online and I saw that the last time it was sold to someone was on my birthday in 2011. Interesting timing! I was able to find some images of how the house was updated at that time and will be including them here.
Some of my childhood pets are in these pictures too. That couldn't be helped!
Updated sun room...carpeting and furniture is different. They also painted the outside deck white.
Fireplace in the family room, floor carpeted at the time (early 80s?) Any guesses as to what is on the TV?
View of the family room, featuring Buddy
Buddy on the family room couch (taken almost 22 years ago)
Updated version of our family room...the fireplace is still there
Living room (during my high school graduation party)
View of the living room from the stairs, featuring Velvet
Updated living room
Kitchen, featuring T.J.
My sister sitting on the kitchen counter (six years old, I think?)
View from the kitchen into the dining room, with the counter that separates the rooms. Featuring T.J. and Velvet
Updated version of the kitchen (reminds me of my current kitchen)
Another view of the kitchen, plus the dining room. The counter separating the two rooms was removed.
Updated basement...not too much has changed other than furniture and flooring. The paneling on the walls is the same.
Office room of the basement, where we had our pinball machine and also kept our computer and TV for the Nintendo.
My bedroom in 1992, featuring Buddy
Another view of my bedroom in 1994 I loved that desk with the gold lamp hanging over it!
Another view of my bedroom, also in 1994, featuring Cassie. Not sure why there were garbage bags in the corner.
Updated version of my bedroom. (I think it was much cooler when I lived in it!)
My sister's bedroom
My sister's bedroom, featuring Velvet My kids have that stuffed iguana now!
Updated version of my sister's bedroom
Buddy and Velvet hanging out on the stairs (front door view)
They're quite the pair! (Upstairs hallway view, guest room is behind Buddy)
