"Sisters are doin' it for themselves..."

Sometimes I only get the chance to blog once a week. And since I can't always get up the motivation to think of a topic, it's nice to have other friends to blog with so we can take turns. I enjoy being challenged to write about stuff that might not normally come to mind and also reading everyone else's thoughts on the same topic. Blog Project 3.0 has been going on for over a year, 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: You know the phrase, he's a man's man? Are you a woman's woman?

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.

Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock

The concept of being a "woman's woman" made me think of the song in my subject line.





Anyway, in order to get an idea of where I was going with this, I first looked up a definition of "man's man."

Merriam Webster defines it as "a man who is liked and admired by other men." So would that be the equivalent of a #guycrush? There was a full definition underneath that one: "A man noted or admired for traditionally masculine interests and activities."

The definition seems pretty broad. If that were the case for being a "woman's woman," I'd definitely have this in the bag. I have been praised affectionately by other women. Some of that was apparent today after an author posted an interview I did at her blog. Some of the comments on that post were:

"You’re renowned, m’dear (in a good way)."

"She is funny, warm, smart, and so lovely. And she writes a heck of a story, too! I absolutely love her."

This is mainly in relation to what I do with Chick Lit Central. I'm all about featuring, supporting, and celebrating women writers. I've also connected with women all around the world who love to read as much as I do. Hearing good things from them about me or my blog always brightens my day. Recently, I introduced my mom to one of my reader friends (they're close in age and I think they'd get along well in general) and she went on to tell my mom how well she raised me and that she thinks I'm a gem and admires some qualities about me.

One of the highest forms of praise is when someone tells me they bought a book because of my review or recommendation. It speaks volumes about the impact I've had through this blog. Believe it or not, I'm rather modest and I blush at even the slightest hint of praise. Even at my office, when someone thanks me for just doing what I'm supposed to do or says something kind to me, I get all shy about it. (And then I brag to my husband about it, of course!) Just doing this to illustrate a point about the topic is totally stepping out of my comfort zone!

In terms of having traditionally feminine interests and activities, I don't know if it's something I'm admired for, as I share these interests with so many other women.

*I love watching chick flicks (some of my favorites are listed here) and girly TV shows. I recently did a post about three current favorites. Aside from those, I'm a devoted fan of The Mindy Project (I won an autographed script last winter!!!) and I just started watching Younger and already love it. I also watch Orange is the New Black and Orphan Black, but those are gritty dramas.

MINDY and CHRIS touched this at one point in time!!!

*I wear dresses and skirts almost all the time. Part of that has to do with being Modern Orthodox Jewish. I don't like wearing pants anymore except for jeans to lounge around in on weekends.

*I like baking a lot. I don't cook main dishes as much as I bake desserts. I'm sometimes just happy to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Other times, I like making indulgent cakes and pies.

*In Judaism, there are three mitzvahs that women are obligated to fulfill. I can proudly say I do all three, which are baking challah, lighting Shabbat (and holiday) candles, and going to the mikvah.

*As a mother, I like talking about my kids a lot and sharing both serious and humorous articles about parenting with all my mother friends. Of course, this experience makes me act like a mother to my friends, as well. I think I was doing that long before I had kids. Aside from nagging (I'm allowed to admit it, okay?!?), I also make sure my friends are taken care of.

There are also ways I don't live up to this definition....

*My fashion sense was left behind about 10 years ago. I still wear clothes I got when I was in my 20s and even some items from my college days. I shop at the thrift store and am happy if the label is from a well known store or designer because even if it's an older item, I still enjoy the fact that I saved a fortune on it. (For example, a few years ago, I got this Ann Taylor sweater dress for $10.)

*I hate shoe shopping and barely ever buy myself shoes.

*I don't like reality TV so I don't keep up with the Kardashians and could care less what the Real Housewives are up to or who the Bachelor selected in the rose ceremony.

*As nice and fun as they are, I only get manicures and pedicures a few times a year, if that. And usually just manicures since no one sees my feet. I tend to smudge the polish even after I think they're totally dry, so that just annoys me. I recently had a deal from Certifikid to get one with my daughter. Of course, she wanted the polish removed later that day and one of my nails completely got smudged even when it was well past being dry.

Mother and daughter manis

Are YOU a woman's woman?